Susanna Reid fights tears as she slams police over Sarah Everard vigil response
Susanna Reid had to hold back tears as she discussed Sarah Everard and the vigil in her name.
The Good Morning Britain presenter was sat alongside Ben Shephard on the ITV breakfast show today, where they were joined by two women – Patsy Stevenson and Dania Al-Obeid – who have been paid damages by the Metropolitan Police. The women were just two of the people who were arrested at the Clapham Common vigil, where images had surfaced of women being forced to the ground or handcuffed and led away during what was a peaceful coming together for women amid the harrowing murder of Sarah Everard at the hands of Metropolitan police officer Wayne Couzens.
Susanna sat alongside the women, who got emotional as they shared their own stories about that day, what happened and what led to them being forced to the ground by police officers or led away. The women held hands as they explained the effect that their arrests and that day had on them then and still does now, as they explained their reason for taking the Met to court.
Patsy Stevenson was one of the women who attended the vigil and was photographed being forced onto the floor by police officers (ITV)Speaking on the show today, Susanna said: "It’s emotional even talking about it isn’t it actually? If a woman who’s walking alone – I mean it’s very close to where I live, where Sarah Everard was snatched – brutally murdered by a Metropolitan Police officer.
"Women come out, go to the common where she just walked past and protest about the way she was treated, and women were treated, and you get treated like that at that event. It’s absolutely shocking what happened."
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In a statement, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said that the vigil had taken place in "extraordinary circumstances", as they shared: "The actions of individual officers were found by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabularies to have been appropriate.
Susanna was emotional as she discussed the women's ordeal (ITV)"They acted in good faith, interpreting complex and changing legislation in very challenging circumstances in a way that was entirely consistent with their colleagues working across London at the time. A protracted legal dispute is not in the interests of any party, least of all the complainants who we recognise have already experienced significant distress as a result of this incident."
Patsy has called for the Metropolitan Police to be more accountable with their apology.
"I don't think they've been fully accountable with this apology," she told the BBC of what she'd like to see happen, "So I would have liked to see that, however, this for us is a huge, huge celebration. This is a big step in campaigning as well."
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