Sarah Everard

A PLANNED vigil in Russell Square tonight to protest against women feeling unsafe on London streets has been cancelled, in the face of threatened Covid-19 fines by the Metropolitan Police.

The event was one of many set to take place across the UK in the aftermath of the killing of 33-year-old Sarah Everard. She was walking home from a friend’s house in Clapham on March 3 when she disappeared.

Wayne Couzens, 48, who is a serving Metropolitan Police officer has been charged with her kidnap and murder.

A body found in woodland in Kent was formally confirmed as being Sarah’s on Friday.

Campaigners had looked to hold a vigil on Clapham Common on Saturday night, where Sarah is thought to have walked past while trying to make her way home on the night she went missing. However the Metropolitan Police said it was illegal under Covid laws.

A legal challenge at the High Court on Friday was unsuccessful, with the judge saying he would not “intervene” in the Met’s order.

If organisers had tried to hold it anyway, they would have faced a £10,000 fine each under current legislation during the pandemic. A similar event was planned in Russell Square – which has also been cancelled.

They are now trying to raise £320,000 to go towards women’s charities in lieu of the events being called off.

Organisers Sagal Abdi-Wali and Nina de Ayala Parker said: “Sarah’s death has unleashed an overwhelming level of grief in so many across our country. We wanted to show solidarity with our sisters in Clapham and provide a space for those unable to travel to Clapham Common during this difficult time.

“We are disappointed at the Met’s handling of the Clapham Common vigil and are deeply sorry to see the organisers feel they could no longer go ahead as planned due to threats of sizeable fines from the Met.

“While we’d like to note our own local police force has not taken the same poorly judged approach, we do not feel comfortable in going ahead with the Camden vigil in Russell Square while the Met threatens the right to protest of our sisters.

“We believe the [Met’s] decision and to take such a hard line is not only a misjudgement, but a missed opportunity for the Met to work with a grieving and angry public in this moment.

“We join them in acknowledging this as the beginning of a wider movement. We ask for people to donate to the fundraiser, to come together online, to remember all women who have been killed and threatened on our streets, and call for an end to male violence against women and girls.”

In a statement, commander Catherine Roper, the Met’s lead for community engagement said: “Our message to those who were looking to attend vigils in London this weekend, including at Clapham Common, is stay at home or find a lawful and safer way to express your views.”