Sarah Everard vigil organisers felt ‘punished’ for trying to work with Met Police

Exclusive: Reclaim These Streets founders tell how they had been trying to hold memorial safely and comply with Covid laws

Reclaim These Streets founders (left to right) Henna Shah, Jamie Klingler, Anna Birley and Jessica Leigh celebrate outside the Royal Courts of Justice, London, after winning their legal challenge against the Metropolitan Police (PA)

Organisers of the Sarah Everard vigil have said they felt “punished” for trying to work with the police and comply with Covid restrictions.

The women, including two local councillors, were threatened with arrest and £10,000 fines after approaching the Metropolitan Police about how to organise the event safely.

Their group, Reclaim These Streets, cancelled their vigil as a result of the potential consequences but more than 1,000 people still made their way to Clapham Common on 13 March last year.

Chaotic scenes unfolded where police were filmed pushing through the crowd, arresting women and pinning one to the ground, sparking widespread outrage and criticism.

At the time, Wayne Couzens had been charged with kidnapping and murdering Ms Everard, and named as a serving Metropolitan Police constable.

Senior officers had argued that any large vigil would break the coronavirus laws in place at the time, but their claims were contested and sparked a High Court battle won by Reclaim These Streets on Friday.

Anna Birley, a councillor who co-founded the group in the days after Ms Everard’s murder and was among the claimants, said they contacted police in order to hold the vigil safely.

“I wanted it to be safe for people to come, so I wanted the police to have an open line of communication,” she told The Independent. “I thought there was going to be collaboration.”

But the day after the group contacted police, officers told them that going ahead would put them each at risk of £10,000 fines for organising a banned large gathering, and arrest under the Serious Crime Act.

The prospect resulted in Reclaim These Streets cancelling their plans, amid concern about the consequences for members and more than 30 women who had organised linked events in cities across the UK.

Ms Birley said she felt she had been punished for trying to work with police and alerting them to the event.

“Not that long afterwards there was a big spontaneous football crowd, which was fine,” she added. “The football crowd didn’t give the police three days’ notice, so they didn’t threaten anybody in advance.”

Fellow claimant Jess Leigh, who is also a councillor, said: “I feel that we were penalised for our diligence and being upstanding members of society.”

Organisers felt they had the support of the council and local police in initial discussions over the vigil, but as the numbers of attendees rocketed on Facebook, it was referred to the Metropolitan Police headquarters.

Henna Shah, another co-founder of Reclaim These Streets and claimant in the legal challenge, said the “entire tone changed” as they were told they could be fined and arrested.

“We went from being collaborative to feeling patronised and belittled and undermined,” she added. “I was angry and frustrated, I felt a deep sense of injustice.”

Fellow claimant and organiser Jamie Klingler recalled crying on the phone to her father, after being warned that because she had collated the details of more than 30 linked events in different locations, she could legally be considered the organiser of all of them.

“I didn’t think about it, I was just trying to help,” she said. “I had no idea the liability I was putting myself under.”

Organisers believed a safely organised vigil would constitute a “reasonable excuse” under Covid laws and lodged an urgent legal challenge, which was heard at the High Court the day before the planned event.

Mr Justice Holgate confirmed that the objective was “to hold the vigil safely and lawfully” and that organisers had “taken care to liaise with local police officers”.

The judge confirmed that Covid laws did not amount to a blanket ban on protest, but during a subsequent meeting where organisers were attempting to discuss ways to go ahead with the vigil, Scotland Yard released a press release saying the court had confirmed it “may conclude that attendance at a large gathering could be unlawful”.

The statement urged women wanting to attend the vigil to “stay at home or find a lawful and safer way to express your views”.

Ms Klingler said the fact the release was put out while they were at an ongoing meeting with police felt “degrading and insulting”.

Organisers told how they collectively decided to cancel the vigil in light of the potential legal consequences for themselves, and women who had organised 31 linked events in cities including Manchester, Cardiff and Bristol.

“What really hurt was that we couldn’t go anywhere near the event for fear of being identified as organisers,” Ms Shah said.

“I couldn't go down and pay my respects but Kate Middleton could, and she wasn’t going to get arrested.”

Members of Reclaim These Streets stayed away from Clapham Common and attended other memorials, including a doorstep candle lighting and online vigil, instead.

But they had already warned police that if they were not allowed to organise the event, an unorganised gathering would take place out of their control.

Ms Klinger said: “The train had already left the station and then people got angrier because the police were trying to silence us.

“None of this would have happened if they had just let us get on with it. We had rape counsellors on standby, a load of stewards, a PA system so people wouldn’t have to crowd together to hear speakers.”

People travelled to leave tributes on Clapham Common through the day and at around 6pm, a large crowd gathered around a bandstand for a minute’s silence.

A speaker then told the crowd to disperse but many people did not, and around half an hour later a decision was made for police to “enforce” the perceived law and end the gathering.

Officers forced their way into the crowd and arrested nine people, including a woman who was filmed being pinned to the ground.

Seven people were later de-arrested, but eight of them were fined under Covid laws.

Members of Reclaim These Streets ended up watching the events unfold at home, where they described feelings of shock, anger and guilt.

“I think it would have been more peaceful had we been able to come to some sort of compromise with the police,” Ms Shah said.

Ms Klingler said Scotland Yard had publicised the vigil and “made people angry” with its refusal to facilitate it.

“I felt bereft and sick and felt like I should have been there,” she added. “Watching men manhandling women at a vigil about men raping and killing women was insane.”