Sarah Everard: Man convicted without knowing for attending vigil

A man accused of breaking Covid-19 restrictions by attending a vigil for Sarah Everard says he heard of his conviction "from a news report".

Kevin Godin-Prior, 68, from Manchester, told a court postal delays meant he was sent a notice of prosecution two days after the deadline to respond.

He was convicted in his absence under the Single Justice Procedure on 1 June.

The conviction has now been dropped after an appeal against it and Mr Godin-Prior pleaded not guilty.

He is one of six people prosecuted by the Met Police following the event on 13 March last year.

A total of nine fixed penalty notices were issued following the vigil - two were paid and another dropped.

Hundreds attended an unofficial vigil for Ms Everard on Clapham Common in March 2021 after she was kidnapped, raped and murdered by then Met officer Wayne Couzens.

Mr Godin-Prior was accused of participating in a gathering of more than two people in a public outdoor place in a Tier 4 area in March 2021.

He, Dania Al-Obeid, 27, and Ben Wheeler, 21, both from London, were ordered to pay a £220 fine, £100 in court costs and a £34 victim surcharge at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

But Mr Godin-Prior appeared at the same court on Tuesday to make a statutory declaration - a way of appealing against a magistrates' conviction if it occurred without the defendant's knowledge.

Appearing via video link, Mr Godin-Prior told the court that due to postal issues he received a notice of prosecution two days after the deadline to respond.

He added that a request to move the proceedings to a local court in Manchester due to his ill health, where he intended to plead not guilty, was not responded to by authorities.

"I am requesting it to be reopened because I had no opportunity to respond to my case," Mr Godin-Prior said.

Ben Stuttard, defending, said Mr Godin-Prior was "prosecuted without knowing it" and "convicted in absence".

Magistrate Dr Lynn Gailey tossed out the conviction, reopened the case and gave Mr Godin-Prior the opportunity to plea, to which he responded "not guilty".

Prosecutor Jen Gatland asked the court to list Mr Godin-Prior for trial on 14 to 16 November alongside Ms Al Obeid, while a case management hearing ahead of the trial was scheduled for 23 September at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

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