Sarah Everard vigil: Hundreds at central London event despite Priti Patel plea

Hundreds of people joined a new vigil for Sarah Everard on Monday, despite the home secretary warning against such gatherings.

Priti Patel said she understood public anger over the 33-year-old's killing but urged people not to protest while Covid restrictions were in place.

Ms Patel also said she had started a review into the policing of a previous London event for Ms Everard.

Officers handcuffed and removed several women from Saturday's vigil in Clapham.

Speaking from Monday's event in Parliament Square, Dominic Casciani, the BBC's home and legal correspondent, said there were "far fewer" police than there had been at Saturday's vigil, adding that officers had taken a "hands-off" approach similar to that seen during the Black Lives Matter demonstrations last summer.

The Met faced widespread criticism for its handling of the Clapham vigil but the force's commissioner, Dame Cressida Dick, has rejected a call to step down.