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A SENIOR Met Police officer refused to apologise today for the force’s storming of last weekend’s Clapham Common vigil for Sarah Everard.
Deputy commissioner Sir Stephen House said officers were “doing their duty as they saw it” to enforce Covid-19 measures at the south London event.
He told the London Assembly police and crime committee that the Met does not underestimate the upset that has been caused by the incident.
“But the officers took their actions believing they were doing the right thing to protect people’s health, they were following legislation put in place by Parliament to protect the public in the middle of a health crisis,” he said. “I can’t apologise for my officers.”
His remarks came as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called on PM Boris Johnson to make a specific new law on street harassment.
Mr Johnson said the government is “always happy to look at new proposals,” adding that the public’s reaction to the tragedy has been “wholly justified and understandable.”
