Met Police launch investigation after woman reported being flashed by man at Saturday’s Sarah Everard vigil – but officers on Clapham Common ‘told her they were too busy to respond’
- A woman has claimed she was flashed while walking home from Everard vigil
- She alleges a policeman dismissed her claim, saying ‘we’ve had enough tonight’
- Metropolitan Police have confirmed that the incident is being looked into
The Metropolitan Police have launched an investigation after a woman reported being flashed by a man after Saturday’s Sarah Everard vigil.
The woman, who gave her name as Georgina, claims she was walking home from the event on Clapham Common in South London when the man exposed himself.
According to Georgina, a policewoman initially told her the incident would be looked into before a male officer allegedly told her: ‘No, we’ve had enough tonight with the rioters.’
‘He started moving the team into the van,’ she told Lambeth Life.
A woman talks to a police officer during a gathering in Clapham Common, London, after the Reclaim These Streets vigil for Sarah Everard was officially cancelled
‘I was just shocked to be told essentially to go away.
‘Even if they said we’re not going to go into it but we’ll walk you, that would have been something.’
Georgina added that the incident made her feel ‘unsafe’.
‘You shouldn’t be scared around the police – you should feel protected. That’s not what happened.’
She has reported the officer’s alleged handling of the situation to the Met and a meeting has been set up.
‘We are aware… that she tried to report the incident at the time to officers in the area -this will be looked at,’ a Scotland Yard spokesperson said.
The 27-year-old added that she had previously been a victim of indecent exposure on Clapham Common when a man had been ‘touching himself’ while ‘passed out’.
A placard rests amid candles on a bench as mourners for the life of murdered 33-year-old Sarah Everard, whose remains were found this week in woodland in Kent, disperse from an officially cancelled ‘Reclaim These Streets’ vigil on Clapham Common on March 13
A crowd of around 1,500 people had gathered at Clapham Common in south London on Saturday night to remember Ms Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, but scuffles broke out as police surrounded a bandstand covered in flowers left in tribute.
Home Secretary Priti Patel and London mayor Sadiq Khan have called for an independent investigation into the Metropolitan Police’s actions at the vigil after scuffles broke out.
Thousands have signed a petition calling for Met Police’s commissioner Dame Cressida Dick’s resignation, which has been described by the Women’s Equality Party as ‘untenable,’ while others say the commissioner, who was appointed in 2017, should ‘consider’ her leadership at Scotland Yard.
This afternoon she defended her role, saying: ‘We’re still in a pandemic, unlawful gatherings are unlawful gatherings, officers have to take action if people are putting themselves massively at risk.’
A Home Office spokesperson said there were ‘still questions to be answered,’ after reading a report into Met Police’s resposne to last night’s vigil in Clapham. Protesters remain in Parliament Square tonight
Asked if she was considering resigning, she said: ‘No, I’m not.’
Ms Everard disappeared on her way home from visiting a friend on March 3.
Scotland Yard confirmed human remains found in Kent belonged to Ms Everard on Friday.
On Saturday, serving police officer Wayne Couzens, 48, was remanded in custody after appearing in Westminster Magistrates’ court charged with kidnap and murder.
Ms Everard’s case has sparked anger in London and across the UK.
The Prime Minister will chair a meeting of the Crime and Justice Taskforce on Monday to discuss how to keep Britain’s streets safe, after women across the country shared their stories of being harassed.