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| - A British police officer was remanded in custody when he appeared in court Tuesday charged with the kidnap and murder of a woman who vanished as she walked home in London this month. The disappearance of Sarah Everard sparked outrage and a national debate on women's safety, prompting the government to promise enhanced police patrols at night and funding to make the streets safer alongside a broader effort to address the problem. London's Metropolitan police is also under pressure after officers broke up a vigil for Everard on Saturday. Widely shared footage showed mostly male officers restraining female protesters. "Things need to change, people are fed up with the status quo," said 43-year-old local resident Charlotte in Clapham Common, the site of Saturday's protest, where a sea of flowers has been laid at a bandstand in tribute to Everard. "When I walk home, I have keys in my hand... My husband does not even know that. It's part of your life and it shouldn't be." Policeman Wayne Couzens, 48, appeared via videolink in a London court to face charges of kidnapping and murdering Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive who went missing in Clapham, south London, on March 3. Couzens, who served in the Met's elite diplomatic protection unit, spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth. A plea hearing has been set for July 9 and a provisional trial date for October 25. Everard had been visiting friends in the Clapham area and was returning to her home in nearby Brixton when she disappeared. Her body was discovered a week later in woods some 80 kilometres (50 miles) away in Kent, southeast England. An official cause of death has not yet been given, but a coroner's inquest is due to open on Thursday. At a cabinet meeting Tuesday chaired by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the government pledged to be "unwavering" in its commitment to tackle violence against women. Johnson on Monday headed a meeting of his criminal justice taskforce to make new recommendations to improve safety. But critics have objected that the taskforce does not include any ministers with responsibility for gender equality, and that criminal justice legislation currently making its way through parliament does not go far enough on the issue. More socially distanced solidarity vigils have been staged in British cities in recent days, as well as in Irish cities including the capital Dublin, where up to 200 people gathered Tuesday. "Who's going to stand up for us, if not us? It's clear that the powers at hand aren't," said attendee Harper Cleves, 27. "We have to actually come out here if we want anything to change." bur-jj/jit/spm
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