Shame on you!
Politicians refuse to apologise for their knee-jerk attacks on Sarah vigil police
OPPOSITION politicians who were branded ‘armchair critics’ for their attacks on officers over the handling of the vigil for Sarah Everard have refused to apologise despite an official review that found the police were not at fault.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey and London Mayor Sadiq Khan were among those rebuked by the review’s inspectors for their rush to judge the ‘complex situation’ facing officers last month.
Last week, the review into the way Scotland Yard dealt with the vigil on London’s Clapham Common cleared the force of wrongdoing and reprimanded politicians for criticising officers without knowing the full facts.
As reported by the MoS, last month’s vigil for Sarah, the 33-year-old marketing executive killed while walking home in South London, was hijacked by those with political motives, with police officers abused while trying to disperse the gathering that breached Covid rules.
At 7.26pm, a video of female protesters struggling with police was posted on Twitter and quickly gained 12.5 million views. It was not long before MPs rushed to condemn the scenes, with Sir Ed the first to comment at 8.46pm declaring: ‘The Met police have acted terribly and caused great harm and hurt.’
He then called for Met Police chief Dame Cressida Dick to resign, saying she had ‘lost the confidence of the millions of women in London’.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer joined the fray, saying: ‘This was not the way to police this protest’. He was followed by Conservative MP Caroline Nokes, Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, and London Mayor Mr Khan.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: ‘Some of the footage circulating online from the vigil in Clapham is upsetting.’
She demanded the report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services into the events, which was delivered last Tuesday. It concluded that while it had been a PR disaster, the officers had acted ‘lawfully, sensitively and proportionately.’ The watchdog added that the chorus of criticism showed ‘a distinct lack of respect for public servants’.
The MoS contacted eight MPs who tweeted on that Saturday evening but not one apologised.
Dame Cressida’s response to the report was forthright, urging people to ‘stop and think before they judge.’.
John Apter, National Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: ‘The review into the actions of the Metropolitan Police show these same people were too quick to make inflammatory, derogatory, and insensitive comments about police officers, with limited knowledge and context. Those responsible should reflect on their behaviour and publicly apologise to my colleagues.’
Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, blamed ‘armchair critics on their Saturday night sofas’ for rushing to judgment.