The Met Police will appeal against a High Court ruling that infringed the rights of the organizers of a vigil for Sarah Everard in south London.
The group had to cancel the event after the Met said it would be illegal to host it under lockdown restrictions.
However, hundreds of people attended an unofficial gathering to pay their respects to Mrs. Everard, who was murdered by Met officer Wayne Couzens.
Police and some protesters clashed at the Clapham Common vigil last March.
The force said in a statement Friday that it had “taken time to consider” the decision, but wanted to “work out what the law requires when monitoring protests and events” in the future.
“It is important to the police and the public that we have absolute clarity of what is expected of us in the law,” he said.
“That is why we feel we should seek permission to appeal the sentence in order to resolve what the law requires in monitoring future protests and events.”
At a two-day High Court hearing in January, Jessica Leigh, Anna Birley, Henna Shah and Jamie Klingler argued that the forcible decisions made ahead of the planned vigil amounted to a breach of their right to freedom of expression and meeting. .
The sentence was described by her lawyer as “a victory for women”.
Reclaim These Streets (RTS) had planned the socially distanced vigil for the 33-year-old woman, close to where she disappeared in Clapham.
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Nearly a year after the vigil on March 13, 2021, two senior judges published their findings that the Met’s actions were “not in accordance with the law”.
The women called off the vigil after being told by the force they would face fines of £10,000 each and possible prosecution if they went ahead, the court heard.
Instead, the spontaneous vigil that took place led to the force being heavily criticized for its actions, although it was later cleared by the police watchdog.
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