Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BY AMY SHARPE
EXCLUSIVE
A WOMAN arrested at a vigil for Sarah Everard has told of her fury over the partygate revelations, saying Boris
Johnson does not have “a shred of moral decency”.
Patsy Stevenson was fined £200 after being pinned down by police for breaching lockdown restrictions at the gathering to honour Sarah,
33, who was murdered by a police officer.
And she blasted the “abhorrent” approach of the Metropolitan Police, who also arrested three others at the event yet turned a blind eye to partying by politicians.
The force is now investigating 12 bashes at Downing Street between May 2020 and April 2021, including up to six allegedly attended by Mr Johnson – but only launched its probe weeks after the parties came to light.
Physics student Patsy, 29, said of the Prime Minister: “He thinks that rules don’t apply to him and he can do whatever he wants.
“I don’t think he has a shred of moral decency. Police arrested people over Covid rules when there were other factors to consider, like protesting and freedom of speech.
“It’s not like we had bottles of wine and cheese boards like they did. It doesn’t make any sense how that’s allowed but we weren’t allowed to mourn the death of a woman murdered by a police officer. It’s abhorrent.”
Politicians from all sides criticised police handling of the March 13 gathering, the day after Sarah’s body had been formally identified. She had been
ON BORIS JOHNSON AT No 10 PARTIES
murdered by serving Met officer Wayne Couzens.
A vigil planned by Reclaim These Streets had been cancelled after police said it breached lockdown rules. But hundreds turned out anyway to pay their respects at Clapham Common in south London. The Duchess of Cambridge was among those showing support.
Met Commissioner
Dame Cressida Dick faced calls to resign after women were seen being dragged to the floor. And a report by MPs later found THREATENED Klingler there had been “multiple failings” by the force.
Their actions were in stark contrast to the partygate probe, where Dame Cressida only announced an investigation on January 25, more than a month after revelations emerged. The initial findings of an inquiry by Sue Gray into the Downing Street parties said some events had been a “serious failure” to observe standards the Government had set for the public at the time. Patsy, who is still fighting to have her fine revoked, said: “Someone like me needs legal aid or public funding, but if Boris Johnson went to court he’d have the top lawyers in the country. “It’s not a case of ‘whoever breaks the rules gets arrested’. If it was then Boris Johnson would have been arrested.”
Reclaim These Streets last week brought a judicial review to the High Court over the Met’s decision to ban the vigil, arguing it was a breach of human rights.
The group’s Jamie Klingler, 43, who was threatened with a £10,000 fine for organising the vigil, told us: “The Government were partying all the way through and the police were witnessing it and holding the door open.”
The Met said: “We do not believe our approach was founded on an inaccurate interpretation of the regulations or that this constituted an unlawful interference with the claimants’ rights.” Downing Street and The Home Office both declined to comment.
He thinks he can do what he wants. I don’t think he has a shred of moral decency PATSY STEVENSON