AN outbreak of common sense affected the Metropolitan Police in London yesterday when a protest called in response to the arrests made at a vigil for Sarah Everard on Saturday night was allowed to pass off without any police intervention.

No arrests were made at either New Scotland Yard where the protests started or at Parliament Square where a minute’s silence in memory of Everard and a sit-down protest were held. Protestors began to disperse about two hours after they had gathered, again without police action.

Indeed police were conspicuous by their absence at the event organised by Sisters Uncut as part of the #ReclaimTheseStreets movement which has arisen after the death of Everard. A serving Met police officer, Wayne Couzens, appeared in court on Saturday charged with the 33-year-old’s kidnapping and murder.

In sharp contrast to the peaceful vigil for Everard in Glasgow, the shocking pictures from the Clapham Common on Saturday night had led to calls for Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick to resign. She said she will not do so and welcomed the decision of Home Secretary Priti Patel to request an independent investigation into the events on Clapham Common in which male police were seen to physically restrain women attendees.

Cressida said: “What happened to Sarah appals me. As you know, I’m the first woman commissioner of the Met, perhaps it appals me, in a way, even more because of that.

“What has happened makes me more determined, not less, to lead my organisation.

“I’ve listened to what people have been saying in the last week, I know that in the streets all across the UK women don’t feel as safe as we would all like women to feel. I am utterly determined.”

She said that “all the women and men of the Met are outraged at what has happened and they’re working as hard as they can to get justice for Sarah”.

“In that context, none of us would have wanted to see the scenes we saw at the end of yesterday’s events,” she added.

Patel asked the Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Sir Thomas Winsor, to conduct a “lessons learned” review into the events after receiving a report from Commissioner Dick.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is said to have confidence in Dame Cressida and spoke with her yesterday morning.

London mayor Sadiq Khan also said he would be asking HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and the Independent Office for Police Conduct to look into the events.

The mayor said the scenes at the vigil were “completely unacceptable” despite having received assurances from Scotland Yard last week that the vigil would be policed “sensitively”.

He said: “I asked the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner to come into City Hall today to give me an explanation of yesterday’s events and the days leading up to them. I am not satisfied with the explanation they have provided.

“I will now be asking Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary to conduct a full independent investigation of events yesterday evening and in previous days. I am also asking the Independent Office for Police Conduct to investigate the actions of police officers yesterday evening.

“It is vital that these events are not allowed to undermine the powerful calls since Sarah’s murder for meaningful action to finally stop men inflicting violence on women.

“It was clear before yesterday that there isn’t adequate trust and confidence from women and girls in the police and criminal justice system more widely. Further steps must now be taken to address this.”

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The Met confirmed yesterday that four people were arrested for public order and coronavirus regulation breaches on Saturday. Three of those – including a man and two women – were arrested on suspicion of breaching the Health Protection Regulation and have been reported for consideration of a fixed-penalty notice.

A fourth person – a woman in her teens – was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence and has been released under police investigation.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called on Dame Cressida to resign, while Women’s Equality Party co-founder Catherine Mayer said her position was “untenable”.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the Commissioner should not quit, but condemned the policing on Saturday as “wrong”.

He told reporters: “I was very disturbed to see the police action. I think it was wrong and I am pleased it is now going to be reviewed.”

In one video obtained by the PA news agency, a woman could be seen being shoved forcefully in the back by two officers after being lifted from her knees.

The woman, who has not yet been identified, then tries to bend down near the officers and is shoved back again. She can be heard shouting that she is trying to retrieve her glasses.

Reclaim These Streets had organised the vigil before being forced to cancel following consultation with the Metropolitan Police, which said it would be in breach of coronavirus restrictions.

It has asked Dame Cressida for an urgent meeting so she can “explain the actions taken by the police last night, before she reports to the Home Secretary”.

After the clashes, organiser Jamie Klingler said the force’s handling of events was a sign of the “systemic ignoring and oppressing of women”.

Nimco Ali, who is advising the Government on tackling violence against women and girls, compared the Met’s behaviour to an abuser. She told Times Radio: “It does come from a handbook of abusive men, where the fact that you’re constantly blaming the victim for your act of violence. So rather than actually taking accountability, it was more like ‘women shouldn’t have turned up’.”