Sarah Everard wary: Metropolitan Police are seeking second appeal against Supreme Court ruling | UK News
The Metropolitan Police are seeking another appeal against the Supreme Court’s ruling that the force violated the rights of organizers at a memorial service held for Sarah Everard last year.
The bid marks the force’s second attempt to overturn the ruling after judges refused to allow them to appeal its decision earlier this month.
Scotland Yard said it was trying to challenge the case because it believed there were “important points of principle around the role of police advising organizers ahead of a proposed event”.
Taking place while COVID restrictions are in place, campaign group Take Back These Streets (RTS) has proposed a social distancing warning for the 33-year-old Sarah Everardwho was murdered by former Met officer Wayne Couzens.
However, the organizers canceled the event after being told by the authorities that they would face a £10,000 fine and possible prosecution if it took place.
Either way, though, a spontaneous protest and vigil took place in Clapham, south London.
The group has criticized Met Police for “spending more taxpayer money” to continue its fight.
It said: “Despite the High Court vehemently rejecting their application for permission to appeal, they are trying to appeal to the Court of Appeal. Will it never end?”
The four women who founded the RTS, Jessica Leigh, Anna Birley, Henna Shah and Jamie Klingler, argued that the force’s decisions before the expected swearing-in ceremony could violate their human rights to freedoms. speech and meetings.
In March, their claim was supported by Lord Justice Warby and Mr Justice Holgate, who found that The Met’s decisions during the run to the event were “inconsistent with the law”.
The force then applied to challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal, but the judges refused to allow it.
Now, it is asking the Court of Appeals itself for permission to challenge the ruling.
The force has been heavily criticized for its vigilant handling
Read more: A year after Sarah Everard’s murder, are women safer?
“We believe that clarity around these issues is of paramount importance to both citizens and their freedom of expression as well as to the police regarding how they enforce legal restrictions in while remaining neutral to the cause behind the event,” Met Police said.
“This appeal is not about vigilance but about decisions and communications with Reclaim These Streets prior to the event scheduled for last March.”
It added that it continued to police “hundreds of protests and events across London each month” and accepted “critical principles of surveillance and challenges facing this security sector”.
