Thousands of Britons tonight gathered to remember Sarah Everard in at least nine vigils held in towns and cities across Britain – in defiance of calls for the events to be cancelled in the wake of Covid-19.
Mourners stood together in Clapham Common from 6pm on Saturday to lay flowers and pay tribute to the marketing executive, who was found dead in Kent a week after she disappeared while walking home in south London.
They were joined by hundreds of others who gathered to light candles in memory of Miss Everard in Bristol, Leeds, Cambridge, Cardiff, Bournemouth, Birmingham and Nottingham – where Britons held placards reading ‘We are all Sarah’ and ‘Teach this in schools.’
Elsewhere, in Edinburgh, people left tributes outside the Scottish Parliament while others held signs reading ‘Police don’t protect us. She was killed by a cop.’
The largest of the vigils took place in Clapham Common, close to where marketing executive Miss Everard, 33, vanished while walking towards her home in Brixton on March 3.
It began peacefully at around 6pm on Saturday, with Kate Middleton among those seen paying tribute.
But clashes broke out later in the night, with Scotland Yard seen arresting several women who had congregated without social distancing in a response dubbed ‘neither appropriate nor proportionate’ by the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said the scenes were ‘upsetting’, while confirming she has asked the Metropolitan Police for a ‘full report on what happened’ during the vigil on Saturday.
The planned event had been cancelled following a High Court battle on Friday, but an estimated 1,500 Londoners defied calls from the Metropolitan Police ‘stay at home or find a lawful and safer way to express your views’ to attend.
Scenes were calmer in Birmingham, where more than 100 people defied requests not to gather due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
One woman, addressing the crowd, said: ‘The police have prevented this, but despite that we have still come out in a pretty decent number. I think we should all be really proud of the fact that we have stood our ground anyway.’
She added: ‘One of the reasons I am here today is not just to acknowledge the tragic, awful thing that happened to Sarah, but also the countless women who are going to be dying because of the system.’
Earlier, attendees had lit candles and laid them at the foot of a tree in Victoria Square, to which signs had been fixed reading ‘I am Sarah Everard’ and ‘Male violence is for men to fix’.
Virtual events were also held in Sarah’s memory tonight, with QI presenter Sandi Toksvig opening an online vigil hosted by Feminists of London by saying her death ‘should be a turning point.’
LONDON: Crowds gathered on Clapham Common tonight near to where Sarah Everard vanished on March 3, despite the Metropolitan Police urging mourners to stay home
CAMBRIDGE: Mourners hold candles and placards in support of the marketing executive on King’s Parade tonight
BRISTOL: On College Green, Britons lit candles and laid flowers in remembrance of Miss Everard, who was found dead in Kent
BOURNEMOUTH: A gathering also took place in Bournemouth, where a handful of Britons stood socially distanced
NOTTINGHAM: Those in Nottingham stood in solidarity with the late Miss Everard, following her kidnap and murder
LEEDS: A placard reading ‘We are all Sarah’ was left on the steps of the Parkinson Building at the University of Leeds today
EDINBURGH: People light candles outside the Scottish Parliament after the Reclaim These Streets vigil for Miss Everard in Edinburgh was cancelled
CARDIFF: Women hold up placards outside the Senedd in Cardiff during a Reclaim These Streets vigil for Sarah Everard
BIRMINGHAM: A woman places a candle in Birmingham after the Reclaim These Streets vigil for Sarah Everard was officially cancelled
‘Tomorrow is Mother’s Day. Never have I felt more passionately concerned about my kids,’ she said. ‘It surely cannot be asking too much to want them simply to be free, to walk where they like, when they like.
‘I am filled in equal measure with profound sorrow and rage, and I know there are many who share this rage and I think it is entirely justifiable. But I also know that it will harm rather than help us if we don’t try and direct that anger to good purpose.’
She added that it was not a ‘small change’ that was needed, but a ‘cultural shift about how women are viewed and treated both in the public and private space’.
‘This has to be a turning point where ending violence finally becomes a political priority,’ she said.
Mandu Reid, the leader of the Women’s Equality Party, added violence against women and girls is ‘akin to a form of domestic terrorism’.
Speaking at Feminists of London’s virtual vigil, she said: ‘The pain and poignancy of this moment lies in the devastating fact that all women and every girl lives under the perpetual threat that what happened to Sarah could happen to any one of us.
‘The reality for women and girls is that the harassment we experience, which is as omnipresent as the air we breathe, could escalate at any time.’
LONDON: The bandstand was surrounded by flowers laid three-foot deep as people gathered for a vigil
LONDON: A well-wisher places a adds a tribute to the growing pile from a gap in a police cordon at the band-stand where a planned vigil in honour of murder victim Miss Everard
LONDON: People clash with police tonight during a gathering at a memorial site near the Clapham Common bandstand
LONDON: Police officers form a cordon as well-wishers turn on their phone torches as they gather at a bandstand where a planned vigil in honour of murder victim Miss Everard was cancelled
LONDON: Those paying tribute to Miss Everard place flowers and candles around a tree in Clapham Common tonight
BRISTOL: People bring flowers and candles on College Green in Bristol after the Reclaim These Streets vigil for Sarah Everard was officially cancelled
EDINBURGH: A police liaison officer talks to people outside the Scottish Parliament after the Reclaim These Streets vigil for Sarah Everard in Edinburgh was cancelled
EDINBURGH: People gather outside the Scottish Parliament after the Reclaim These Streets vigil for Sarah Everard in Edinburgh was cancelled
BOURNEMOUTH: Three women light candles in Bournemouth after the Reclaim These Streets vigil for Sarah Everard was cancelled
Scotland Yard urged Britons to leave Clapham Common as the scenes quickly turned tense on Saturday night
She continued: ‘I am done with empty platitudes from political leaders from across the spectrum who treat male violence like a tragic but inevitable force of nature, as if they haven’t spent years slashing budgets to prevention programmes and support services.’
Planned gatherings across the UK were today cancelled due to coronavirus restrictions, but at least 1,500 Londoners defied pleas from the Metropolitan Police to stay home and attended a vigil in Clapham Common.
A number of police officers moved in on the bandstand to block access for speakers as the crowd started chanting ‘arrest your own’ and ‘shame on you’ this evening. Scenes quickly turned violent as officers pinned women to the ground to handcuff them.
Footage posted to social media showed a tussle between Metropolitan Police officers and some of the crowd as some shouted ‘you are scum’ following the brief clash. One woman screamed ‘you’re supposed to protect us’.
Labour leader Keir Starmer and Liberal Democrats deputy Daisy Cooper were among the parliamentarians to condemn the use of force in Clapham this evening, with Mr Starmer dubbing the scenes ‘deeply disturbing.’
He said: ‘The scenes in Clapham this evening are deeply disturbing. Women came together to mourn Sarah Everard – they should have been able to do so peacefully.
‘I share their anger and upset at how this has been handled. This was not the way to police this protest.’
Sadiq Khan furiously hit out at the ‘unacceptable’ scenes, adding: ‘The police have a responsibility to enforce Covid laws but from images I’ve seen it’s clear the response was at times neither appropriate nor proportionate.
‘I’m contact with the Commissioner and urgently seeking an explanation.’
David Lammy, MP for Tottenham, said: ‘Women should have been able to mourn the death of Sarah Everard in peace. The images of male police officers manhandling women at this moment of national trauma are distressing.
‘The way this was policed was wrong and lessons must be learned. ‘
Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey and Conservative MP Steve Baker also criticized the actions of police, with Mr Baker describing events in Clapham as ‘unspeakable scenes’.
Harriet Harman, MP for Camberwell and Peckham, added: ‘Met mishandled vigil plan from the outset. They should have reached agreement. Terrible scenes in Clapham. I don’t want to see any of these women in court.’
Reclaim These Streets, which had planned to hold the Clapham vigil before it was cancelled, today urged people to take part in a doorstep vigil at 9.30pm on Saturday, with the group saying it would be joining people across the country and ‘shining a light, a candle, a torch, a phone, to remember Sarah Everard and all the women affected by and lost to violence’.
A High Court judge last night refused to intervene on behalf of the group in a legal challenge over the right to gather for a protest during coronavirus restrictions
BIRMINGHAM: A woman lights a candle in Birmingham after the Reclaim These Streets vigil for Miss Everard was officially cancelled
CAMBRIDGE: Women lined a road in Cambridge and held up signs as they held a vigil for Ms Everard
BRISTOL: Mounted police watched over a vigil on the College Green this evening
The vigil was planned for Saturday in memory of marketing executive Sarah Everard, who disappeared while walking home to Brixton on March 3
They added: ‘We aren’t just lighting a candle for the women we’ve lost: we have been inspired by the women who have reached out and hope this is just the start of a movement that will light a fire for change.’
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would light a candle for Ms Everard with his fiancee Carrie Symonds, adding that he would be thinking of the 33-year-old’s family and friends.
‘I cannot imagine how unbearable their pain and grief is. We must work fast to find all the answers to this horrifying crime,’ he said.
‘I will do everything I can to make sure the streets are safe and ensure women and girls do not face harassment or abuse.’
Floral tributes to Ms Everard had been laid at the bandstand in Clapham Common ahead of the gathering growing in pace from 6pm, with the Duchess of Cambridge seen visiting the make-shift memorial to pay her respects.
Kensington Palace said Kate Middleton, who was not wearing a face covering, ‘remembers what it was like to walk around London at night before she was married’ and ‘wanted to pay her respects to the family and to Sarah’, reported Sky.
LONDON: Police attempt to break up a vigil for Ms Everard at the bandstand on Clapham Common
LONDON: Hundreds of mourners defied social distancing to gather at Clapham Common on Saturday night
Kensington Palace said Kate (pictured) ‘wanted to pay her respects to the family and to Sarah’, reported Sky . ‘She remembers what is was like to walk around London at night before she was married,’ the palace added
The unexpected visit came after a planned vigil was cancelled, with organisers citing the Met Police’s ‘lack of constructive engagement’ to help make it Covid secure
On Friday, a High Court judge refused to intervene on behalf of the group in a legal challenge over the right to gather for a protest during coronavirus restrictions.
The group said today that despite their attempts to work with police to ensure the Clapham vigil could proceed safely, they now felt it could not go ahead.
Organisers said they had made ‘many suggestions’ to police, including splitting the event into different time slots – but that they were told going ahead with a vigil could risk a £10,000 fine each for each woman organising.
A number of police forces across the country also issued statements urging people not to attend the in-person events, instead encouraging people to move online.
Greater Manchester Police said: ‘We along with the rest of the country are shocked and saddened about what happened to Sarah Everard – women should never have to live in fear. Gathering in large groups is still unlawful so if you plan on joining events this weekend, please do so in a covid-safe way.’
A vigil planned for Miss Everard’s home city of York was cancelled and organisers urged people to post a photo of a candle in their window or doorway, while events in Coventry and Birmingham were also cancelled.
The fundraising target of £320,000 by Reclaim These Streets was set to mirror the fines which might have been issued had the vigils gone ahead, with the aim to raise £10,000 for each of the 32 vigils which organisers said had been scheduled.
Caitlin Prowle, from Reclaim These Streets, said the group had not wanted to end up in a situation they were having to raise funds to pay fines, rather than for charitable causes.
She said the money would ‘just go straight back into a system’ that ‘continues to fail’ women.