Sarah Everard vigil news: Latest updates as Boris Johnson to meet Cressida Dick

Police Minister Kit Malthouse has said that when it comes to whether Saturday’s vigil for Sarah Everard should have been allowed to advance, “the law is clear.”

“In these circumstances, the law is clear that mass assemblies are illegal,” he said, speaking in Good morning Great Britain.

Noting that organizers of the “Reclaim These Streets” vigil, which was originally expected to take place on Clapham Common, canceled the event after police refused to allow it to proceed legally, Malthouse said the impromptu vigil that took place instead it was an “informal meeting”.

“I support the fact that the police determined that the meeting would be illegal,” he said.

He said an investigation into the police response to the vigil would delve into the “dynamics” of the gathering and how it was handled by law enforcement.

“This investigation will examine … what happened and the decision making,” he said.

Kit Malthouse, minister of surveillance, has said that he is “grateful” to Patty Stevenson for her willingness to dialogue with the Metropolitan Police.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain on Monday, Malthouse responded to comments from Ms Stevenson, who made headlines after being photographed being pinned to the ground by police officers at Saturday’s vigil.

Earlier on the show, Ms Stevenson had said she wanted to get away from the message that vigil attendees are “against the police” and instead promote a “dialogue for change” with law enforcement. ” .

“I appreciated what he said,” Malthouse said.

Patsy Stevenson dismissed claims that have been circulating on social media that she is an “actress.”

Speaking in Good morning Great BritainMs. Stevenson acknowledged that she had an account on a promising actors website, but said it was an “old” account and that she has since shifted to focus on her studies at the university.

“I understand that social media is a very fast thing and people are going to search,” said the 28-year-old, who is currently studying physics.

“I’m not an actress,” she clarified.

However, as a “women’s ambassador in STEM” at her school, she said that she has been actively involved in promoting women’s rights for a while.

Patsy Stevenson, a vigil attendee who was photographed being pinned to the ground by police officers, says she is “not against” the police and simply wants a dialogue with law enforcement.

“I’m not against the police,” he said, “but, you know, the organizers were trying to get the police to participate safely,” he said of Saturday’s vigil for Sarah Everard.

The university student said that all she and others wanted “was for women to be able to cry and share each other’s company in a safe space.”

Many of those who attended the event, he said, were “angry” that the police prevented them from doing so by trying to close the event.

Still, he said he wanted to “push away the message of ‘we are against the police'” and instead promote a “dialogue for change” between those who attended the vigil and law enforcement.

Patsy Stevenson, a vigil attendee who has made headlines after police photographed her being forced to the ground at the event, has said she still doesn’t understand why the police responded to the event so strongly.

“I still don’t know why they pushed me to the ground so hard,” he said, speaking in Good morning Great Britain.

The vigil attendee said she was “terrified” when police pinned her to the ground.

She further said that she and other attendees had socially distanced themselves as they stood at the bandstand and began pulling women off stage.

“He distanced himself until the police arrived,” he said.

Former Greater Manchester Police Chief Sir Peter Martin Fahy has said he believes the Metropolitan Police officers would likely have faced criticism had they not intervened in Saturday’s vigil for Sarah Everard.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Monday, Sir Peter was asked how the police could have better handled the situation.

“[They] I could have made the decision not to intervene at all, ”he said. However, the former police chief said he believed officers “probably would have been criticized” for failing to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Croydon Central Labor MP and Police and Fire Shadow Minister Sarah Jones has said she believes the government has been “ignoring violence against women.”

Speaking in BBC breakfast On Monday, Ms Jones said she believed it was time for the government to take action, rather than just discussing the need to address violence against women and girls.

“The time has come to do something about violence against women and girls because all the numbers are going in the wrong direction,” said Ms. Jones.

“It is time to act now, not to talk anymore,” he said.

Her remarks came as Prime Minister Boris Johnson was preparing to chair a meeting today with Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick and others on how to better protect women and girls from violence.

Prime Minister Boris is expected to meet today with Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick and others to discuss how to better protect women and girls from violence.

The meeting, in which the Government’s Crime and Justice Task Force will participate, comes as Ms. Dick continues to face calls to resign over her force’s response to a vigil held Saturday in memory of Sarah Everard.

Johnson has said he was “deeply concerned” after seeing images of police cracking down on the event, and officers were seen pulling the vigil attendees out of a kiosk and shoving several people to the ground.

Until now, Ms. Dick has resisted calls to resign from her position.

Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Priti Patel has asked the Chief Inspector of Police to carry out a review of “lessons learned” from the police response to the vigil, while London Mayor Sadiq Khan has requested multiple investigations into the incident.