After London police clash with women at vigil, force’s chief says she won’t quit

London’s police commissioner on Sunday defended her officers’ actions and said she didn’t intend to resign after coming under heavy criticism for the way police treated some protesters at a vigil for a woman whom one of the force’s officers is accused of murdering. Home Secretary Priti Patel said scenes from the vigil in south London were “upsetting.” The capital’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, said the police response was “at times neither appropriate nor proportionate.” Both said they were not satisfied with the force’s report of events and were seeking a full and independent investigation. She said she fully understood the strength of feeling in response to Everard’s case but stressed that Saturday’s vigil was an unlawful gathering and officers had been put in a “very difficult position” trying to police a protest during a pandemic. pic.twitter.com/FGOv2OWGA3 — The Project March 14, 2021 Khan, London’s mayor, said Sunday the police force had assured him the vigil would be “policed sensitively” but that that wasn’t the case. “We all felt deeply saddened — and still do — that it happened, so I brought a candle with me but unfortunately wasn’t even able to light it to put it down because the police turned up and barged their way through.” Emotions were still running high Sunday as several hundred demonstrators gathered outside London police headquarters.