The Metropolitan Police Service has filed a second appeal against the High Court’s decision.

The military is attempting to reverse the judgment for the second time after the courts denied them permission to appeal earlier this month. Scotland Yard said it is attempting to overturn the decision because it feels there are “important matters of principle” regarding the role of police in informing event organizers ahead of a planned event.

Campaign organization Reclaims These Streets (RTS) planned a socially detached vigil for 33-year-old Sarah Everard, who was murdered by former Met officer Wayne Couzens when COVID limitations were in effect. However, the event was canceled when the police warned that if it went ahead, they would face £10,000 in penalties and probable prosecution.

Regardless, a spontaneous vigil and protest were held in Clapham, south London. The Met Police has been chastised by the organization for “spending more taxpayer money” in its fight. It read: “They are now attempting to appeal to the Court of Appeal, notwithstanding the High Court’s furious rejection of their futile claim for permission to appeal. Is there no end in sight?”

Jessica Leigh, Anna Birley, Henna Shah, and Jamie Klingler, the four women who created RTS, alleged that actions taken by the police in advance of the scheduled vigil were a violation of their human rights to freedom of expression and assembly. Lord Justice Warby and Mr. Justice Holgate supported their claim in March, finding that the Met’s choices in the run-up to the incident were “not in conformity with the law.”

The police department subsequently sought to the Court of Appeal to appeal the decision, but the justices denied their request. It is now seeking the Court of Appeal to obtain permission to appeal the decision. “We feel that clarity on these matters is critical, both for citizens and their right to free speech and for police officers in how they enforce legal limits while remaining impartial to the event’s purpose,” the Met Police stated.

“This appeal is about the choices and discussions with Reclaim These Streets before the planned event last March, not about the vigil itself.” It went on to say that it continues to police “hundreds of protests and events around London every month” and that it embraces “essential principles of examination and challenge into this area of policing.”