hundreds of demonstrators are gathered this evening near the houses of parliament — earlier they lay on the ground for a minutes�* silence. authorities in the republic of ireland recommend temporarily suspending use of the astrazeneca vaccine, after a report of four new cases of blood clotting incidents in adults who'd had the jab in norway. the foreign secretary makes another call for the immediate release of british—iranian nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe after she faces new allegations of anti—government propaganda in court. and it's the music industry's biggest awards night of the year, the grammys. they're being held at a virtual ceremony in los angeles. good evening. if you've just joined if you've justjoined us welcome to bbc news. the commissioner of the metropolitan police has defended the tactics of the force, in breaking up last night's vigil for sarah everard, the 33—year—old woman whose body was found in woodland on wednesday. dame cressida dick said she welcomed an independent review into what happened. but that anyone "who wasn't in the operation, cannot pass detailed comment". officers made several arrests, saying the gathering risked covid infections, but critics say police tactics were heavy handed. mps will debate a new bill this week giving forces wider powers, in dealing with public gatherings and demonstrations. this report from our home editor mark easton contains flash photography. within moments of being taken, this picture of police holding down a woman on clapham common last night became a symbol of female defiance against male aggression. as darkness descended on the vigil for sarah everard, what had been a peaceful and respectful demonstration of female solidarity turned ugly. police moved in to disperse the crowd, there was pushing and shoving, with a number of women taken away in handcuffs. four were arrested for public order and coronavirus regulation breaches — among them, dania. as i was sat in the van, as my hands were handcuffed, i wasjust thinking... "gosh, all i wanted was to stand with other women." the fear that has been brewing for years from a very young age, we get harassed and we're aware of the abuse and violence against women. chanting: nojustice, no peace! as the police surrounded the bandstand, emotions intensified. they had grabbed me, they was being really aggressive, twisting my arms, you know, they had put me in the handcuffs. the beautiful women stood with me. one of them, as the pictures are circulating, she was thrown to the floor. you know, she had police officers on her back with their knees, their feet. the police are saying that they had to act for public safety reasons. i personally being there didn't see anyone being at risk. shame on you! the sight of women who had come together to stand against male violence being manhandled has led to a chorus of criticism from across the political spectrum. the mayor of london, sadiq khan — who runs policing in the capital — described the scenes as "completely unacceptable", demanding the commissioner of the met, dame cressida dick, explain herself at a meeting in city hall today. an official inquiry was ordered by the home secretary, priti patel, this afternoon as dame cressida defended her officers. they have to make these really difficult calls and i don't think anybody should be sitting back in an armchair and saying "well, "that was done badly," or "i would've done it differently" without actually understanding what was going through their minds. the metropolitan police were already being investigated for events around the sarah everard murder inquiry. now, scotland yard's leaders find themselves under increasing political pressure. the focus really of this weekend should be on sarah everard and herfamily but it is right also that the police explain their actions. they should've been allowed to protest, to have their vigil, to come together in peace and i was very disturbed to see the police action. i think it was wrong and i'm pleased it's now going to be reviewed. there is evidence to suggest that some of those who attended the vigil had been looking for trouble and the police had been criticised before for not intervening in protests during the pandemic, notably by the home secretary. this evening, a crowd of protesters gathered outside scotland yard presenting a new challenge to the police's ability to handle the outpouring of anguish sparked by sarah everard's death. up to now, the met stands accused of getting it badly wrong. mark easton, bbc news. following the demonstation at new scotland yard, there was a further gathering at parliament square where demonstrators lay down on the ground as they observed a minute's silence to remember sarah everard. the crowd then dispersed. sarah everard's death has shone a critical light on the issues of violence against women, and the safety of our streets. our correspondent, katy austin, has been to clapham in south london, to speak to some of the women who attended last night's vigil, about why it was important to go. katherine and anna—maria made the short walk from their homes to clapham common this afternoon. i mainly wanted to pay respects to sarah everard and herfamily. it's had a massive impact on me as a woman, living around here, and i think it has so many others. both went to last night's vigil despite being aware of lockdown rules. they say they wore masks and kept social distance. we couldn't not go because it affects every single one of us. it is rare for a woman to be abducted off the street, but in recent days many women have been sharing other experiences on social media of feeling afraid, being harassed, or assaulted. there were just so many posts all about what happened, about sarah everard, but also just in general. it's resonated with everyone i know, not only in the south—west of london but everyone that i know has a story. the sea of flowers at the bandstand continued to swell today. people stood in reflective silence. the number of tributes which have been left and the number of people still coming here today is just one sign of how widely sarah's story has resonated. naomi also chose to attend yesterday. i didn't like being told that i wasn't allowed to. she felt it was too important. looking at sarah, you just think it could have been me or it could have been my friends or it could have been my loved ones so easily. and just to carry that fear around with you everyday, itjust weighs you down. a week that's included international women's day and mother's day has also seen mourning for the shocking loss of a woman's life and a wider national conversation about male violence and female safety. katy austin, bbc news. our political correspondent nick eardley is here. next, the timing of this is particularly important, isn't it, because there is a piece of legislation going before mps this week which critics say will give police even more powers to control demonstrations and prevent them just as they are being criticised for their handling of a very high—profile and as it turned out rather controversial one. this high-profile and as it turned out rather controversial one.- high-profile and as it turned out rather controversial one. bill rather controversial one. this is a bill that would _ rather controversial one. this is a bill that would perform _ rather controversial one. this is a bill that would perform some - rather controversial one. this is a bill that would perform some of l rather controversial one. this is a l bill that would perform some of the rules around policing. and the main concern that opposition parties have for one of the concerns they have is that it would make it easier for the police to shut down certain types of protests and in the aftermath of what we saw in clapham yesterday, that concern i think has only been amplified. we will get that legislation debated in parliament this week, i suspect almost all opposition mps will vote against it, there may be some conservatives as well who feel the same. it's worth pointing out it's quite a broad piece of legislation so it's not just about that. it changes quite a want of the rules around sentencing as well. but again one of the criticism that we heard from the labour party today is that it doesn't do enough around the sentencing for crimes against women. i think it will be a particularly heated debate, it was always going to be fairly heated, but it is more heated now. but i suspect the government will be asked over the next few days is whether it's prepared to take further action in the weight of everything that is happening in the last few days. we talked a bit on bbc news this evening about the position of the met commissioner but stepping back from that, there's a more general kind of tension here isn't there between having independent policing which we have, the police are statutorily independent but they are supposed to be accountable and any place like london which has national responsibility as a counter terrorism, the home office has a lot of interest in what the police do in london and you have the mayor and police authority who ultimately commissions this it is quite explosive politically.- commissions this it is quite explosive politically. commissions this it is quite exlosive oliticall . ~ . . explosive politically. what you have seen from the _ explosive politically. what you have seen from the politicians _ explosive politically. what you have seen from the politicians over - explosive politically. what you have seen from the politicians over the l seen from the politicians over the last 2a hours is some concerns raised about some of the pictures we are seeing at the moment of young women being arrested at a vigil but also them stressing that the police are operationally independent and that the politicians weren't involved in the specific decisions, they were involved in discussions but not specific are decisions about policing. it seems pretty kryptonite that the met commissioner is a safe and herjob as far as the politicians are concerned for the —— pretty clear that... labour are not going for her to resign. fix, pretty clear that. .. labour are not going for her to resign.— going for her to resign. a lot of this hinges _ going for her to resign. a lot of this hinges on _ going for her to resign. a lot of this hinges on the _ going for her to resign. a lot of this hinges on the review - going for her to resign. a lot of - this hinges on the review presumably and whether that raises concerns about the current command structure in scotland yard and the operational decisions that rests with her. i think that is right and it will be interesting to see how long that's review takes and probably postpones any further criticism for a few weeks but it was interesting seeing just how angry london's mayor sadiq khan was in all of this. he was perfectly clear that he was unhappy with the expedition he had heard from the met commissioner dane cressida dick today. so although that immediate threat to herjob seems to have gone away a bit, this time last week we were starting to hear calls for her resignation. i don't think that's going to happen in the next few days but i also think that there is a longer or medium—term question about the way this was dealt with and what this does is about future policing environments like this. nick, thank ou ve environments like this. nick, thank you very much- _ the irish government has suspended the use of the astrazeneca vaccine because of concern about four reports of blood clots in patients who've received the jab in norway. the health secretary said the move was a precautionary step. astrazeneca and the uk regulator the mhra both say there is no evidence that having the vaccine increases the risk of bloodclots. in a moment we'll speak to professor peter openshaw — an immunologist at imperial college london — but first our correspondent louise cullen is following this story. the deputy chief medical officer in the republic made the announcement this morning in a statement following those reports of thrombolytic events, clots and bleeds and so on, made actually across europe. there have been around 30 of these events reported from europe, but that's in the context of around 5 million europeans getting the oxford/astrazeneca jab. but as of this morning, ireland joined a list of countries that have either suspended the astrazeneca vaccine or have suspended the use of certain batches of it. that list includes norway, denmark, italy, estonia and several other european nations as well. now astrazeneca's been given in the republic of ireland around 110,000 times, that is about a fifth of the vaccines that have been administered. it's been used in the uk more than 11 million times and the regulator here in the uk says there's no evidence of any excess deaths or clots reported in association with it. it's important to say that the european regulator, the ema, and the world health organization have also said there's no evidence of a link between the vaccine and these thrombolytic events. astrazeneca says that clots are naturally occurring and that the numbers that are being reported are no greater than what would be expected in an unvaccinated population. louise cullen there. so as promised, let's speak now to peter openshaw — professor of experimental medicine at imperial college london and also a member of the uk vaccine network. professor thanks so much, good to speak you again. let's start with what we know. there have been blood clots in patients. how could that be conceivably linked to vaccination? well, it is evident that people who develop covid do have quite high complication rate of developing blood clots, it is one of the things that has really surprise us in this disease is that there are major blood clots and also small blood clots in the little vessels in the lungs for example which are a complication of covid itself. so, there is that known link. there is no reason to expect that to be the case with vaccination of course because the vaccine is designed to prevent covid and therefore to prevent covid and therefore to prevent those complication. so this is a strange — prevent those complication. so this is a strange paradox, _ prevent those complication. so this is a strange paradox, if— prevent those complication. so this is a strange paradox, if you - prevent those complication. so this is a strange paradox, if you do - prevent those complication. so this is a strange paradox, if you do not| is a strange paradox, if you do not take the vaccine because you're worried about blood clotting, you might be putting us of potentially at risk of blood clotting because you might otherwise get the virus. nonetheless to understand why ireland has taken the action it has? ireland has taken the action it has? i think a lot of countries quite rightly are being very cautious and are taking the measure ofjust suspending vaccination whilst this is investigated but i think it is absolutely clear that when this has been booked into, there is no increase rate of quat and clotting and blood clots are actually quite common in the population and particularly in older people. —— the rate of clots. it is a recently common condition to develop blood clots and you will see this when you wrote out vaccines at scale in millions of people and you will see some people who die very soon after having the vaccine through causes which are nothing to do with actually having had the vaccine. so, you can understand the desire for caution but actually looking at the numbers, it doesn't look like this is an exceptional rate of blood clotting. i is an exceptional rate of blood clottinu. ., , ., ~ is an exceptional rate of blood clottin-. . , ., ~ ., is an exceptional rate of blood clottin.. . ~' ., . clotting. i was talking to a colleague _ clotting. i was talking to a colleague earlier - clotting. i was talking to a colleague earlier who - clotting. i was talking to a colleague earlier who said clotting. i was talking to a - colleague earlier who said from her perspective although she is a long way off from receiving vaccination right now, she says it has been a consideration for people like me because she said, "i already take a medication that makes me more at risk of blood clots." for people in that sort of situation, what sort of conversation should they have with the gp or anyone else vaccinating? is there an option for them to say "i would prefer to use one of the other vaccines." what advice would you offer if i could put you in that invidious position? that you offer if i could put you in that invidious position?— you offer if i could put you in that invidious position? at the moment there is no — invidious position? at the moment there is no evidence _ invidious position? at the moment there is no evidence to _ invidious position? at the moment there is no evidence to say - invidious position? at the moment| there is no evidence to say whether one vaccine is preferable to another. it's remarkable that the vaccines that are currently being licenced under the emergency licence procedure, all of them are remarkably effective. remarkably effective, one of the most extraordinary things i have seen in my lifetime to develop vaccines this fast that are so effective in preventing the disease. there is a side effect to reach that you would expect with a vaccine that is very powerful in terms of stimulating the immune system. but at the moment, i wouldn't really say that there's any proof at all that the vaccine has actually caused these clotting events that have been observed in a few cases, and comparable with numbers you would expect anywhere in the population. i numbers you would expect anywhere in the population-— the population. i would say astrazeneca _ the population. i would say astrazeneca is _ the population. i would say astrazeneca is said - the population. i would say astrazeneca is said that. the population. i would say| astrazeneca is said that the analysis covering more than 70 million doses of the vaccine administered has shown no evidence of increased risk of the conditions and the reported numbers of these types of events are not greater than a number that would have occurred nationally —— naturally in unvaccinated population that was in response to the ireland story. the last quick question. someone is that we might actually have to slow down the process, the flow of vaccinations because of supply issues in the coming months. is that causing any concern at the moment? i think it's so important that we do get vaccination rates up as high as possible particularly over the summer when the rate of infection is we hope going to be kept low. but remember, other places in europe, we do see now a surgeon cases. we are do see now a surgeon cases. we are by do see now a surgeon cases. we are by no means safe at the moment. we do need to keep the infection rates down and get vaccination rates up as high as possible whilst this is happening. == high as possible whilst this is happening-— high as possible whilst this is haueninu. , ., happening. -- surge in. professor peter openshaw, _ happening. -- surge in. professor peter openshaw, thank _ happening. -- surge in. professor peter openshaw, thank you - happening. -- surge in. professor peter openshaw, thank you for i happening. -- surge in. professor peter openshaw, thank you for asj peter openshaw, thank you for as everfor being peter openshaw, thank you for as ever for being with us on bbc news. the latest coronavirus figures show infections continuing to fall, though weekend numbers tend to be lower due to reporting delays. let's take you through the numbers. there were 4,618 new cases recorded in the latest 24—hour period, which means on average the number of new cases reported per day in the last week, is 5,703. there were 52 deaths r