Scotland Yard posts statement on first anniversary of horrific rape and murder of Sarah Everard

Sarah Everard’s family today issued a statement on the first anniversary of her rape and murder, as the Met Police said it ‘remains deeply disgusted and ashamed’ one of its officers was responsible.  

Wayne Couzens was handed a whole-life jail term last year after using Covid powers to conduct a fake arrest of the 33-year-old marketing executive as she walked home from a friend’s house, before committing crimes so horrific they shocked the nation and undermined confidence in the police. 

The 49-year-old, who used his warrant card and handcuffs to carry out the crime, had been planning for at least a month before abducting Ms Everard in Clapham, south London, on the evening of March 3, 2021.

Passing sentence at the Old Bailey in September, Lord Justice Fulford said the case in which a serving officer abused his position was so exceptional that it warranted a whole life order, meaning Couzens will never be freed.

It was the first time the sentence had been imposed for a single murder of an adult not committed in the course of a terror attack. 

Today, exactly 12 months on from when Ms Everard first went missing, her loved ones told of their personal woe.

In a statement, her family said: ‘It is a year since Sarah died and we remember her today, as every day, with all our love. Our lives have changed forever and we live with the sadness of our loss. Sarah was wonderful and we miss her all the time.

‘Over the past year we have been overwhelmed with the kindness shown to us, not just by family and friends, but by the wider public. 

‘We are immensely grateful to everyone for their support, it has meant such a lot to us and has comforted us through this terrible time.

‘Sadly, Sarah is not the only woman to have lost her life recently in violent circumstances and we would like to extend our deepest sympathy to other families who are also grieving.’

The force has also issued a statement, which read:  ‘Our thoughts are with Sarah Everard’s family and loved ones. One year on we remain deeply disgusted and shamed that a Met police officer was responsible for Sarah’s appalling murder.’  

Wayne Couzens was handed a whole-life jail term last year after using Covid powers to conduct a fake arrest of the 33-year-old marketing executive as she walked home from a friend’s house

Mayor London Sadiq Khan also issued a statement this morning. He said: ‘My thoughts are with Sarah Everard’s family, friends and all those who knew eher.

‘Today we remember the young woman that Sarah was, and the life that she lived. She was a vibrant, talented, intelligent young woman, who was loved deeply by her family and friends.

‘Sarah’s murder left the nation in shock, and sparked a national outcry about the way our society treats women and girls. I am clear, we cannot simply respond to male violence against women and girls – we must prevent it.

‘I want every woman and girl to be safe, and to feel safe – whatever time of day and wherever they are in the capital. I will continue to do everything within my power to ensure that ending violence against women and girls is treated with the utmost urgency both by our police, and society as a whole.’

Earlier this week, Priti Patel told police that attacks on women and girls should be given the same priority as tackling terrorism, saying: ‘I do not accept that violence against them is inevitable.’

The Home Secretary’s plan will aim to improve the record low conviction rate for rape, amid scathing criticism of police and criminal prosecutors.

It comes as an exclusive survey carried out by Good Morning Britain reveals that three quarters of men in the UK recognise that they should actively change their behaviour to make women feel safe when they are on their own. 

The specially commissioned poll by Savanta ComRes, of more than two thousand men in the UK, also revealed that 84% of men are concerned about women’s safety and a staggering three in five men say it’s not safe for women to walk home alone at night. 

When asked whose responsibility it is, 60% of men believed the police or government should take primary responsibility for improving women’s safety, with only 21% of men believing the responsibility is theirs and 10% of men thinking this should fall to women themselves.

In addition, half (49%) of the men surveyed said their female friends or family members have experienced some kind of physical, sexual or emotional abuse incuding harassment, stalking, threats, intimidation and blackmail.

Furthermore, more than half (55%) of the men who took part in the survey said they had already altered their behaviour to make a woman who was alone feel safer – with only three in ten (29%) agreeing they already do enough. Only 21% of men admitted to having asked a woman how they could alter their behaviour.

Neil Thompson, Editor, Good Morning Britain said: ‘A lot has happened across the world since the tragic and terrible death of Sarah Everard, but as the new Enough government campaign which launched this week proves, and as we emerge from the pandemic, violence against women and girls has no doubt increased and is still very much a daily crisis for many in the UK.

‘It is encouraging that GMB’s new survey has revealed more men across the UK are taking responsibility for women’s safety and looking to change their own behaviours as a consequence. Long may this continue and improve, as we still have a very long way to go.’

On March 3, Couzens staged a fake Covid arrest, handcuffed Sarah Everard (pictured), 33, and put her in his car before driving 80 miles to Kent where he raped and murdered her

A slew of claims have come to light about the killer since he was jailed for his life with no chance of parole after he kidnapped, raped and murdered Miss Everard.

Couzens is known to have committed an indecent exposure, driving round naked from the waist down in his car, when he served with them in 2015.

He has also been identified as being responsible for carrying out the same offence at a McDonald’s restaurant days before he targeted Miss Everard.

On March 3, he staged a fake Covid arrest, handcuffed Miss Everard and put her in his car before driving 80 miles to Kent where he raped and murdered her. Days later, he burned her body and left it in woods near land he owned. 

The Met faced a wave of criticism over missed opportunities to expose Couzens as a sexual predator before he went on to murder Ms Everard.

It emerged he 48-year-old was known as ‘the rapist’ by staff at the Civil Nuclear Constabulary because he made female colleagues feel so uncomfortable.

He had been accused of indecent exposure in Kent in 2015 and in London in the days before Ms Everard’s murder, but was allowed to continue working.

Ms Patel announced there will be an independent inquiry into the ‘systematic failures’ that allowed Couzens to serve as a Met police officer. The Home Secretary said that ‘recent tragic events have exposed unimaginable failures in policing’.

She said that the public ‘have a right to know’ why Couzens was able to be employed by the Metropolitan Police.  

The inquiry will look at Couzens’ career in the Metropolitan Police and determine if red flags were missed to identify him as a threat. 

The inquiry will be split into two parts, with the first examining Couzens’ previous behaviour. 

It will seek to establish a ‘definitive account’ of his conduct leading up to his conviction, as well ‘any opportunities missed’. 

The second part of the probe will look at ‘specific issues raised by the first part of the inquiry’. 

That could include examining wider issues across policing, including vetting practices, discipline and workplace behaviour. 

The Met has also commissioned its own review of the culture and standards at the force, including Couzen’s former unit – the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command.

The past year has seen a number of high profile alleged stranger murders of women, including the deaths of PCSO Julia James and teachers Sabina Nessa and Ashling Murphy.

Another case saw labourer Valentin Lazar, 21, jailed for life for beating 45-year-old Maria Rawlings to death after a chance meeting on a bus.

On Thursday evening, a walk will take place in south-west London, which organisers The Urban Angels said is in memory of ‘victims of gendered violence.’

The group, which aims to make society safer for women and non-binary people, wrote it is a ‘chance for us all to stand in solidarity and show that we both demand and support change.’

The event will begin at Clapham North underground station at 7pm and will finish at the Clapham Common bandstand, near where Ms Everard went missing and the location of a socially distanced vigil held in her memory last year.