The kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a serving Metropolitan Police officer continues to haunt the London force, whose chief Cressida Dick announced her resignation a month ago.
The campaign group Reclaim These Streets (RTS) had wanted to organise a socially distanced vigil for the 33-year-old Everard in March 2021.
The Met police banned the vigil, arguing it would breach coronavirus restrictions then in force, and warned four organisers of RTS that they each faced prosecution if they went ahead.
The four women were forced to back out, but hundreds of women still turned out on Clapham Common in south London, near where Everard had gone missing.
At one point they included Prince William’s wife Kate.
Police arrested a small group of protesters who had remained at the end of the impromptu vigil.
The sight of male officers scuffling with female demonstrators further soured the national mood.
In banning the protest ahead of time, “none of the (Met’s) decisions was in accordance with the law”, two senior judges ruled in upholding a legal challenge brought by RTS.
The force “failed to perform its legal duty to consider whether the claimants might have a reasonable excuse for holding the gathering”, and failed to conduct a proper assessment to justify its decision.
RTS said the High Court judgment was “a victory for women”.
“Today’s judgment conclusively shows that the police were wrong to silence us,” the group said, adding it “sets a powerful precedent for protest rights”.
The London police force said they were reviewing the judgment and might appeal it.
“The Met worked very hard in challenging circumstances to interpret and apply the regulations lawfully and proportionately, despite numerous changes during the pandemic,” assistant commissioner Louisa Rolfe said.
But RTS said: “Instead of wasting taxpayers’ money on an appeal, we hope that they will invest the funds in measures that tackle misogyny and keep women in London safe.”
In September, former Met officer Wayne Couzens was jailed for the rest of his life for Everard’s murder, after he falsely arrested her on the pretence she had broken coronavirus restrictions.