Sarah Everard vigil in south London cancelled

PA Media

A vigil planned for Sarah Everard in south London will not take place, organisers have confirmed.

Reclaim These Streets had planned to hold the vigil on Clapham Common on Saturday evening, near to where the 33-year-old was last seen alive.

But a High Court judge refused to grant permission for the vigil and gatherings are not permitted under Covid rules.

Anna Birley from Reclaim These Streets said the group could not bear the personal risk of fines or prosecution.

Ms Everard's disappearance, when she was walking home along a main road in Clapham on 3 March, has prompted a public debate on women's safety.

Vigils had been planned across the UK, but two in Edinburgh had already been called off.

The Metropolitan Police has urged people to find a "lawful and safer way" to express their view on the issue.

On Friday, serving Met Police officer Wayne Couzens, 48, was charged with the kidnap and murder of Ms Everard.

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'Massive individual risk'

Explaining why the Clapham vigil had been cancelled, Ms Birley told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "In part because of the massive individual risk that gives us as organisers, and that we don't want to be putting women at risk of fixed penalty notices or the women seeking to organise their own individual events at risk of criminal prosecutions under the serious crimes act, which is what we've been threatened with.

"The inability of Scotland Yard to constructively engage with us means we can't be confident they're going to police the event in a way that's Covid safe."

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March 13, 2021 at 07:48PM

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56384758