Sarah Everard protesters scrawl ‘all coppers are b******s’ over Battle of Britain memorial during anti-police rally
PROTESTERS scrawled “all coppers are b******s” over a memorial commemorating the Battle of Britain during an anti-police rally in London.
Hundreds of people have taken to the street to protest over police tactics at a vigil organised to remember Sarah Everard at the weekend.
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During one of the protests, the acronym ACAB – which stands for ‘All Cops Are B******s’ – was scrawled over a monument on the Victoria Embankment in London.
The monument was built to honour the airmen who died in the Second World War and was unveiled on September 18, 2005 – the 65th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.
Protesters also crossed out Winston Churchill’s name and wrote the word ‘racist’ under a quote by the former prime minister.
The quote is from a wartime speech in which he said: “Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed, by so many, to so few.”
Hundreds of people gathered for a third day of demonstrations outside Parliament today and then moved towards New Scotland Yard – the Metropolitan Police‘s headquarters.
Some were filmed throwing objects – seemingly water bottles – at police officers.
Police and some people taking part in the protest tonight were also seen scuffling.
Protests in the capital began after cops were filmed dragging women away from a bandstand where people were paying tribute to Sarah Everard on Saturday.
Demonstrators also showed their anger at a new bill being discussed in Parliament which would give police and the home secretary greater powers to crack down on protests.
Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, disappeared after leaving a friend’s house in Clapham, South London, in the evening of March 3.
She left the property and began walking towards her home in Brixton.
At about 9.30pm, Sarah was spotted on CCTV walking alone on the A205 Poynders Road, from the junction with Cavendish Road, in the direction of Tulse Hill.
Her body was found in Ashford, Kent, on March 11.
Wayne Couzens, 48, a police officer whose role it was to guard diplomatic premises, was charged with her kidnap and murder.
He appeared by videolink from prison at the British capital’s Old Bailey central criminal court today.
A provisional trial date was set for October 25 and he is due to enter a plea in July.
One of Sarah’s friends, Helena Edwards, has criticised the protests saying her death had been “politicised”.
Writing in , she said: “This is not what Sarah would have wanted.
“My friend’s tragic death has been hijacked.
“It is not a tribute to her any more, it’s about something else – and I don’t like what it has become.”