The Metropolitan Police's handling of a vigil in south London to mourn Sarah Everard has been widely criticized across the political spectrum, BBC reported.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has asked the Met for a report on what happened, while London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was "urgently seeking an explanation" from Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick.

And Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for Commissioner Dame Cressida over the "utterly disgraceful" scenes, adding she had "lost the confidence of the millions of women in London."

Police said four arrests were made at the vigil to "protect people's safety."

Several hundred people gathered on Clapham Common on Saturday evening to pay tribute to 33-year-old—whose death has prompted a public debate over women's safety—despite Covid restrictions.

Reclaim These Streets group, which had been organizing the official vigil, noted in a statement that it was "deeply saddened and angered" by the police's actions and criticized officers for "physically manhandling women at a vigil against male violence."

"It is their responsibility to protect public order, public health and the right to protest—they failed tonight on all accounts," the group added in the statement.

Sarah Everard disappeared when walking home to Brixton from Clapham in south London on 3 March.

Her body was found in an area of woodland in Ashford, Kent, Westminster Magistrates Court heard.

Earlier on Saturday, Met Police officer Wayne Couzens, 48, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court charged with Everard's kidnap and murder.