The Met acted illegally in blocking vigil for Sarah Everard on Clapham Common, yards from where she was abducted
The Met breached the rights of the organisers of a planned vigil for Sarah Everard, two judges have ruled.
Reclaim These Streets (RTS) had to cancel the event on Clapham Common after the Met said it would be illegal to stage it under lockdown restrictions.
Hundreds of people still attended an unofficial gathering there – less than half a mile from where she was abducted by serving police officer Wayne Couzens.
They gathered pay their respects to Ms Everard on March 13 – 10 days after she was kidnapped, raped and later murdered by Couzens.
But there were clashes at the event between police and some of those there – one participant, Patsy Stevenson, was famously photographed being arrested.
At a two-day hearing at the High Court in January, Jessica Leigh, Anna Birley, Henna Shah and Jamie Klingler argued the Met’s decision to ban the planned vigil amounted to a breach of their right to freedom of speech and assembly.
In a statement  outside the Royal Courts of Justice on behalf of the four after the ruling, the women’s solicitor Theodora Middleton said: “Today’s judgment is a victory for women. Last March, women’s voices were silenced. Today’s judgment conclusively shows that the police were wrong to silence us.
“The decisions and actions by the Met Police in the run-up to the planned vigil for Sarah Everard last year were unlawful and the judgment sets a powerful precedent for protest rights.
“We came together one year and one day ago to organise a vigil on Clapham Common because Sarah Everard went missing from our neighbourhood. We felt sad and afraid.
“We were angry that women still weren’t safe and we were tired of the burden to stay safe always weighing on our shoulders.”
Klingler said, in a statement read out by Ms Middleton, the ruling represented “absolute vindication”.
She added: “Every step of the way there was just condescension and disrespect and [the police] were telling us their hands were tied. We hope that the new commissioner is a visionary who really prioritises getting rid of the systemic racism, sexism and homophobia in the force.”
Stevenson, who is taking legal action against the force over her arrest, told the Guardian: “As soon as I found out, I just burst into tears. It’s a huge win and it just shows we should have been able to do it and that the police were in the wrong. That’s what we’ve been saying the whole time but no one listened or understood.”
Lord Justice Warby and Mr Justice Holgate on Friday March 11 this year released their ruling in favour of arguments made by the four women, finding that the Met’s actions were “not in accordance with the law”.
In his summary, Lord Justice Warby said the Met had “failed to perform its legal duty to consider whether the claimants might have a reasonable excuse for holding the gathering”.
He added: “The relevant decisions of the (Met) were to make statements at meetings, in letters, and in a press statement, to the effect that the Covid-19 regulations in force at the time meant that holding the vigil would be unlawful.
“Those statements interfered with the claimants’ rights because each had a ‘chilling effect’ and made at least some causal contribution to the decision to cancel the vigil.”
The Met had argued there was no exception for protest in the Covid-19 rules at the time and it had no obligation to assess the public health risk.
Group cancelled the vigil after being told by the force they would face fines of ÂŁ10,000 each and possible prosecution if it went ahead.
The spontaneous vigil that took place instead led to the force being heavily criticised for its actions – although it went on to be cleared by the police watchdog..
Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe said the force is considering whether to appeal the judgement as it will have “important consequences” for policing, and not just of the pandemic. She added: “I remain deeply saddened by the murder of Sarah Everard and utterly disgusted that it was a serving Met officer who took her life. That sadness is shared by colleagues across the Met.
“We know the impact this terrible crime has had on our communities and recognise that the vigil on Clapham Common on 13 March 2021, organised to remember Sarah, was intended to give people the opportunity to express themselves.
“We know how strongly people felt in wanting to come together and have their voices heard.
“Throughout the pandemic, officers worked hard to respond with a proportionate policing operation to each planned gathering, applying the differing Coronavirus Health Protection Regulations in place at the time.
“The Met worked very hard in challenging circumstances to interpret and apply the regulations lawfully and proportionately, despite numerous changes during the pandemic. The policing operation around the vigil was scrutinised through an independent review by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS).
“The Met unreservedly endorses the principle that fundamental freedoms, such as those exercised by the claimants in this case, may only be restricted where it is necessary and proportionate for a lawful purpose. Consideration of an appeal is in no way indicative that the Met do not consider such protections to be of the utmost importance. It is, however, incumbent on the Met to ensure that this judgment does not unduly inhibit its ability, and that of police forces across the country, to effectively balance competing rights in a way that is operationally deliverable.”
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