UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson backs police chief Cressida Dick despite protests over Everard murder

The Metropolitan Police force has agreed to launch an internal investigation into its handling of the protest

Interior minister Priti Patel has also asked a policing watchdog to ‘conduct a lessons learned review’

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Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Photo: Getty Images / TNS

Published: 2:23am, 16 Mar 2021Updated: 2:23am, 16 Mar 2021

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday backed London’s police chief following outrage over her officers’ handling of a vigil for a woman who was allegedly kidnapped and murdered by a member of the same force.

Johnson said he still had full confidence in Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick but supported the internal and independent reviews launched into how officers handled the gathering on Saturday.

Dick has faced calls to resign after police scuffled with the predominantly female crowd and physically restrained demonstrators, arresting four people.

Protesters gather outside Parliament Square in London during a protest over the murder of Sarah Everard, in London on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Hundreds had assembled throughout Saturday, including Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, to pay tribute to 33-year-old Sarah Everard, who disappeared on March 3 and whose body was found in woodland last week.

A Met police officer serving in the elite diplomatic protection unit has been charged with her kidnap and murder.