Leeds protest planned over police handling of London vigilpublished at 13:30 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2021
Michael Henderson
BBC Radio Leeds News
Organisers of a vigil held in Leeds at the weekend in memory of Sarah Everard say they are concerned about "incredibly distressing images" from Saturday's event in London.
Police officers handcuffed women and removed them from a gathering on Clapham Common held as a tribute to Ms Everard.
Boris Johnson said he was "deeply concerned" by footage showing police officers detaining women at the London event.
A vigil which was held outside the Parkinson Building at the University of Leeds on Saturday night was watched online by over 70,000 people, organisers Reclaim the Night Leeds say.
The group has now organised a protest in Leeds for this evening against the way police dealt with the London event and against the government's new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which goes before Parliament today.
Meanwhile, organisers of another online event, in Halifax, have thanked people who took part at the weekend.
Charlotte Butterick, from Reclaim These Streets Halifax, said, "We managed to do it safely, and I would just add, in contrast to everything, we're seeing in other parts of the country, that West Yorkshire Police were really co-operative and supportive."