LONDON'S streets AREN'T safe for women and girls, Met Police chief Cressida Dick admitted today.

Her confession comes after Mayor Sadiq Khan said he did not think the capital's streets were safe for women in the wake of the Sarah Everard case.

The Met Commissioner repeatedly dodged the question about whether she agreed with Mr Khan.

But then eventually she admitted she met with Sadiq Khan yesterday and said that "we broadly agreed on that point".

Speaking on LBC, she said tackling violence against women is a priority for her force.

Ms Dick said: "I have been dealing with violence against women and girls a core part of my service, as a woman as well, since I joined.

"I care deeply about this."

When pressed whether Mr Khan's comments were right by host Nick Ferrari, she said: "I absolutely understand that many women feel fearful.

SAFETY FEARS

"I would like them to be very much safer. I wouldn't put it as strong as [Sadiq Khan]. I would say the streets are not completely safe for everybody all of the time."

"I met with the Mayor yesterday. We don't always agree, I think we broadly agree on that point."

When asked about safety in the city, Sadiq Khan said in March: “No they aren’t, or for girls – and it’s really important that people of my gender understand that.

“If you’re a woman or a girl, your experiences of our city, in any public space, whether it’s in the workplace, on the streets, on public transport is very different to if you are a man or a boy.

“And it’s really important that people like me in positions of power and influence understand that and take steps to address that.”

He added that it can’t be right that females have to work out in advance of walking which routes are the best lit, saying he had tried to make routes safer.

Earlier this year, Dame Cressida faced calls for her to resign over her officers' handling of the Sarah Everard vigil – a case which shook the country.

Tragic Sarah had to be identified by dental records after her body was found in a builder's bag, a court heard.

PC Wayne Couzens, 48, is accused of kidnapping and murdering the 33-year-old after she vanished in Clapham, South West London, on March 3.

Ms Dick said people had criticised officers' tactics in breaking up a vigil yards from where she vanished "without knowing the facts".

She lashed out after a report exonerated their response and said they acted “lawfully, sensitively and proportionately” despite “severe provocation”.

Most read in News

Photos and video of police breaking up the vigil on Clapham Common in March sparked outrage and calls for Dame Cressida to quit.

Officers were seen handcuffing and forcibly removing female protesters, who had gathered to remember Miss Everard.

But the Met boss, who refused to resign over the scandal, slammed critics of the response and said they'd undermined public confidence in the police.

Source: Read Full Article