KATE JOINS THE VIGIL FOR SARAH
Duchess mingles discreetly to pay respects because she ‘remembers what it’s like being a woman walking round London on her own’
THE Duchess of Cambridge yesterday paid a remarkable tribute to murdered Sarah Everard by laying daffodils at a vigil to her memory.
In a touching expression of unity, she mingled with hundreds of tearful women on Clapham Common in London, who were mostly unaware of Royalty in their midst. An aide said that Kate, 39, wished to ‘pay her respects to the family and to Sarah’ and could clearly remember ‘what it was like to walk around London at night before she was married’.
The powerful memorial event took place close to where the 33-year-old marketing executive went missing and served both as a tribute to Ms Everard and as a way of
highlighting the wider issue of violence against women.
However, it was marred by angry confrontations when police tried to disperse the crowd for breaking Covid rules.
Last night Home Secretary Priti Patel called for an urgent report into the violent scenes.
Rianne Thompson, 26, who was at the vigil, said: ‘Kate coming here today shows that this has affected all women, no matter who you are.’
Dressed in a green wax Barbour jacket, jeans and boots, the Duchess arrived midafternoon, striding purposefully across the Common and trailed discreetly by a female Royal Protection Officer.
Once at the bandstand, a focal point for the steady stream of visitors that had become circled by a carpet of flowers, she paused in reflection before bending down to add two bunches of daffodils picked that morning from the Kensington Palace gardens and tied with ribbons.
She spent several minutes looking at the many written tributes beneath posters bearing slogans such as ‘End Violence Against Women’ and ‘When Will Women Be Safe?’
Onlookers said that the Duchess, who was not wearing a face mask, appeared upset as she left the Common.
After graduating in 2005, Kate lived in a three-bedroom flat in Chelsea, less than two miles from the spot where marketing executive Ms Everard was kidnapped as she walked home on March 3.
Her body was found in woodland near Ashford, Kent, last week.
Plans for an official Clapham Common vigil had been cancelled after a High Court bid to bypass Covid restrictions failed, but an estimated 1,500 women turned out anyway.
As evening fell, police tweeted that it was ‘unsafe’ adding: ‘Hundreds of people are tightly packed together in breach of the regulations and risking public health. We are urging people to go home.’
But the mood became increasingly tense, and a series of skirmishes broke out. One video posted online showed police officers grabbing women in the bandstand before leading them away, to screaming and shouting from onlookers. It is understood at least five people were arrested.
Earlier, an unnamed man had to be escorted away by police after he stood on the bandstand to rant about not being able to see his friends because of lockdown.
Instead of a planned evening event, organisers Reclaim These Streets encouraged people to across the UK to join a vigil on their doorsteps at 9.30pm, the time Ms Everard was last seen.
Boris Johnson and fiancee Carrie Symonds lit a candle together in the garden of Downing Street. Another candle was placed on their doorstep.
The Prime Minister tweeted that he would be thinking of Ms Everard’s family and friends, adding: ‘I will do everything I can to make sure the streets are safe.’
The vigil in London was one of several events around the country. Women also gathered in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Bristol, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Nottingham, Cambridge and Birmingham, with some bearing placards: ‘We are all Sarah.’
Earlier, armed police officer Wayne Couzens, 48, appeared in court charged with kidnap and murder.
The father of two, who had facial injuries sustained while alone in his cell, was remanded in custody.
The family of Ms Everard, a Durham University graduate, had previously paid tribute to their ‘bright and beautiful daughter and sister’.
In a statement, they said: ‘She was kind and thoughtful, caring and dependable. She always put others first and had the most amazing sense of humour.’
Three days ago, a comment on the Reclaim These Streets Facebook page suggested an appearance by the Duchess of Cambridge ‘would be great publicity’ and asked for a way of making contact.
FURY AS POLICE GRAB MOURNERS
HOME Secretary Priti Patel has demanded an urgent report into the violent scenes last night that marred a vigil for Sarah Everard.
The event descended into chaos as police clashed with dozens of mourning women at the Clapham Common vigil, which was attended by an estimated 1,500 people.
Disturbing footage showed heavyhanded officers pinning screaming women to the ground to put them in handcuffs.
Officers surrounded the bandstand, where people laid flowers, and members of the crowd could be heard shouting: ‘Shame on you.’
One video posted online showed officers grabbing women standing within the bandstand before leading them away, and screams of ‘You’re supposed to be protecting us’ could be heard from onlookers.
Campaign group Sisters Uncut, which had representatives at the vigil, tweeted: ‘As soon as the sun went down, police stormed the bandstand.’
The Home Secretary said in a tweet last night: ‘Some of the footage circulating online from the vigil in Clapham is upsetting. I have asked the Metropolitan Police for a full report on what happened.’
Politicians on all sides condemned the behaviour, with one MP describing it as ‘heartbreaking and maddening to watch’. Conservative MP Steve Baker described the events as ‘unspeakable scenes’ and urged the Prime Minister to change lockdown rules.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: ‘The scenes in Clapham 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.’ The Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper called the scenes ‘disgusting and completely avoidable’, while her party leader Sir Ed Davey called for Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick to ‘consider’ her leadership of the force.
He said in a letter to her: ‘The scenes this evening of the policing of the Clapham Common vigil in memory of Sarah Everard are utterly disgraceful and shame the Metropolitan Police. We therefore call on you to consider your leadership of the service and whether you can continue to have the confidence of the millions of women in London that you have a duty to safeguard and protect.’
On Friday, a High Court judge refused to intervene on behalf of campaign group Reclaim These Streets over the right to gather during coronavirus restrictions, and yesterday the group said that they now felt it could not go ahead. Police urged people instead to conduct a vigil at their doorstep with a candle, but hundreds of people arrived at Clapham Common early in the evening.
Smaller events took place in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bournemouth, Leeds, Cambridge and Bristol.
More than 100 people defied a police request to stay away from a Birmingham city centre vigil. It passed off without incident.