Sarah Everard's family calls for harsher sentences

Sarah Everard's parents are campaigning for tougher sentencing for serious violent and sexual criminals as part of a new campaign group being launched in Parliament.

Ms Everard, 33, was abducted, raped and murdered by Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens as she walked home in London in 2021 - he was later sentenced to a whole life order.

Jeremy and Susan Everard said it was "important that sentences truly reflect the seriousness of the crime".

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said it has launched a review into sentencing to help ensure sentences are punishing offenders and protecting the public.

Mr and Mrs Everard said "although nothing can alleviate the sense of loss, it is a relief to us that our daughter's murderer received a whole life order".

They added: "It made us feel that the enormity of his crime was recognised and that our daughter's life was valued.

"We know of other families in similar circumstances who have not had this small comfort."

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he would meet the Justice for Victims group, and that the courage of the campaigners, "after simply appalling cases, was astounding".

"I'm pleased the minister for victims will be meeting the group... and I look forward to meeting them in the future."

He added that victims should be prioritised, offenders suitably punished and the public protected.

Another member of Justice for Victims is Paula Hudgell, the adoptive mother of double amputee Tony Hudgell, who lost his legs from injuries caused by his birth parents.

Tony was just 41 days old when he was assaulted in Whitstable, Kent, an attack which caused multiple fractures and dislocations, and blunt trauma to the face, leading to organ failure, toxic shock and sepsis.

He was left untreated and in agony for 10 days and because of the extent of his injuries both his legs had to be amputated.

Jody Simpson and her partner Anthony Smith were jailed for 10 years in 2018.

Ms Hudgell said: "When criminals abuse children they are creating a devastating impact for the rest of that child's life.

"Many decades can be spent wrestling with the aftermath. Yet perpetrators can be out of prison living a free life whilst the suffering for the victim goes on for decades.

"We need a justice system that reflects that properly. I have seen so many cases of child abusers that don't get a punishment that fits the crime. Let alone child murderers - they shouldn't get out of prison in my view."

The group includes the parents of four-year-old Violet-Grace Youens, who was killed by a motorist driving at more than 80mph in a 30mph zone in 2017, in St Helens, Merseyside.

And Ayse Hussein, whose cousin Mihrican Mustafa - known as Jan - was murdered by a convicted paedophile in 2018, has also joined.

Ms Mustafa's body was found in a freezer in the killer's flat in Canning Town, east London, a year after she went missing.

Zahid Younis received a life sentence, with a minimum jail term of 38 years, for the murder of Ms Mustafa and another woman, Henriett Szucs.

Ms Hussain said the term "life sentence" was misleading.

"People think that we've been given justice, but at one point he will be out, seeing his family again.

"But we've lost our loved one."

Katie Brett, whose 16-year-old sister Sasha Marsden, from Blackpool, was stabbed to death in 2013, said: "You hear about people getting a life sentence.

"The people who really get the life sentence are families like mine. In the end most murderers end up getting out of prison - sometimes as after as little 15 or 20 years.

"My sister had decades of life ahead of her."

She added: "Surely if you take a life the starting point should be spending the rest of your life in prison? That's what we wanted as a family and what would have been respectful of my sister's memory.

"I think that's what most families would want and I think most people would support that."

An MoJ spokesperson said "delivering for victims must always be a priority" for the criminal justice system.

They added that the Lord Chancellor has also asked the Law Commission to consider whether homicide law and sentencing guidelines are working effectively.

The group was formed amid ongoing public concern about serious criminals escaping proper punishment, Justice for Victims said.

They will meet with cross party MPs and the leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch on Wednesday.

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