Met Police to appeal against ruling it acted unlawfully during Sarah Everard vigil

The Met Police has confirmed it will appeal against a High Court ruling that states the force breached the rights of organisers of the vigil for Sarah Everard.

Scotland Yard received heavy criticism for its 'heavy handed' response to the vigil in Clapham Common, London last year when images surfaced showing women pinned to the ground by male officers. Earlier this month, the high court ruled in favour of four women who founded the Reclaim the Streets movement and challenged the force for how it handled the event.

The Met will now appeal the decision in order to resolve "what is required by law when policing protests", the Mirror reports.

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A statement from the Met reads: “Following the High Court judgement issued on Friday, 11 March the Met has taken time to consider with great care the decision itself and the wider implications for policing.

“It’s absolutely right that we are held to account for our actions and that there is proper scrutiny of the decisions we make as a police force in upholding legislation and maintaining public order.

“We also respect the strong views held by Reclaim These Streets in defence of human rights and public protest, and their pursuit of justice for these views.

“As an organisation we work with, support and police hundreds of protests and events across London every day, and take our responsibilities under the Human Rights Act in doing so, very seriously.

“It’s important for policing and the public that we have absolute clarity of what’s expected of us in law. This is why we feel we must seek permission to appeal the judgement in order to resolve what’s required by law when policing protests and events in the