Family and friends of two murdered sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman have gathered at a vigil for what would have been Nicole’s 29th birthday.

Large crowds lit candles and laid flowers at Fryent Country Park in Wembley on Tuesday evening (July 3) to honour all women lost to male violence.

The two sisters were celebrating Bibaa’s birthday in the park last June when they were stabbed to death by Danyal Hussein, 19.

Mother Mina Smallman, a retired Church of England cleric, said she wanted the vigil to be a celebration of her daughters’ lives and the proceedings kicked off with Brent North MP Barry Gardiner singing Amazing Grace.

Flowers were left at the Reclaim These Streets event (Photo: PA)

Flowers were left at the Reclaim These Streets event (Photo: PA)

In a speech to the gathered crowds, Ms Smallman said: “As a teacher and a priest I have given my life over to raising boys and girls that people looked down on and didn’t think that they could be anybody. Now I’m doing it for my girls and I’m doing it for every one of the girls here.

“I am so tired of old, grey, boring white men telling us how to live our lives.

“You know nothing changes because they still have the power, they still call the shots.

“We haven’t really gone through the glass ceiling, they’ve just put a concrete one up. Well, we’re bringing in the bulldozers. We’re calling it out.”

Many people gathered to pay respects to Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman (Photo: PA)

Many people gathered to pay respects to Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman (Photo: PA)

Ms Smallman also criticised the media’s under-reporting of the girls’ disappearance in comparison to the coverage of missing white people.

The vigil, which was organised by Reclaim These Streets, was also attended by Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and MPs Dawn Butler and David Lammy.

After a prayer for the girls, music was played featuring the Eurythmics’ Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves and attendees left candles, bouquets and placards.

David Young-Phombeah, from north-west London, attended the vigil to show his support.

He said: “My sister lives right next to the park, five minutes from where this tragic event took place. For me it just really hit home.

“There were hundreds of people here every day last year during the heatwave. As I’m local, and I’m a proper Londoner, I felt very touched by it.”