Sarah Everard murder: Trust in police shaken, Met chief admits

Trust in the Metropolitan Police has been "shaken" by the murder of Sarah Everard by a then-serving officer, the force's commissioner has admitted.

Dame Cressida Dick said she recognised "a precious bond of trust has been damaged" and she would ensure "any lessons" were learned from the case.

She was delivering a statement after facing calls to resign.

The Met faces questions over whether chances were missed to prevent Wayne Couzens from murdering Ms Everard.

Labour MP Harriet Harman called for Dame Cressida to stand down, saying women's trust in the force "will have been shattered", while former Met chief superintendent Parm Sandhu also called for the commissioner to resign.

But Home Secretary Priti Patel said while the Met had "serious questions" to answer, she would "continue to work with" the Met chief.

Couzens, 48, kidnapped, raped and murdered Ms Everard, 33, in March. He has been sentenced to a whole-life prison term.

Speaking outside the Old Bailey, where Couzens was sentenced, Dame Cressida said she was "absolutely sickened" by the case - adding that it had "brought shame on the Met" and "rocked" the organisation.

Couzens' actions were a "gross betrayal of everything policing stands for", she said, and had "eroded the confidence that the public are entitled to have in the police".

She said: "I absolutely know that there are those who feel that their trust in us is shaken. I recognise that for some people a precious bond of trust has been damaged."

Dame Cressida said she realised what had happened to Sarah Everard and other women in London and elsewhere recently had "raised important questions about women's safety".

She committed to "keep working with others to improve women's safety and reduce the fear of violence".

"There are no words that can fully express the fury and overwhelming sadness that we all feel about what happened to Sarah. I am so sorry."

The Met has announced that it will no longer deploy plain-clothes officers on their own, and will instead send them in pairs.

Deputy Commissioner Sir Stephen House said there would be "occasions" where that was not possible - such as when a pair of officers were split up - and noted that off-duty officers not in uniform "put themselves on duty" when they come across an incident.

In other moves to allay concerns, the Met said it would deploy 650 new officers into busy public places, including those where women and girls often lack confidence that they are safe 

Couzens, who had been a police officer since 2002, transferred to the Met in 2018 from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, where he had worked since 2011.

He was sacked by the Met in July after pleading guilty, but the force is still facing questions over whether chances were missed to prevent his predatory behaviour.

After Ms Everard's murder, the police watchdog announced it was probing alleged failures by the Met to investigate two indecent exposure incidents linked to Couzens in February.

In a statement, the Met said it received an allegation of indecent exposure some 72 hours before Sarah was abducted. That crime was allocated for investigation but by the time of Sarah's abduction it was not concluded, the force said. 

The Independent Office for Police Conduct is also investigating alleged failures by Kent Police to investigate a flashing incident linked to Couzens in 2015.

A Scotland Yard review into how Couzens became a police officer in London found that it missed that his car had been linked to an allegation of indecent exposure.

He passed vetting processes.

The Met said it had asked the policing watchdog to pay "particular attention to our vetting practices" in its inspection of the force. 

But the force added that "vetting is a snapshot in time and unfortunately, can never 100% guarantee an individual's integrity".

A "complete overhaul" of vetting procedures was needed, Ms Sandhu, a former Met chief superintendent, told BBC Radio 4's World, adding that she did not have trust in the Met commissioner to make the necessary changes.

Meanwhile, Ms Harman, who is chairwoman of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, said it was "not possible" for Dame Cressida to "rebuild the shattered confidence of women in the police service".

This month, it was announced that Dame Cressida - the first woman to lead London's police force - will serve an extra two years in her role and remain in post until 2024.

Days before the announcement, a number of high-profile figures wrote an open letter accusing her of "presiding over a culture of incompetence and cover-up".

Ms Patel said there were "serious questions" that needed to be answered by the Metropolitan Police - but backed Dame Cressida.

Speaking at the Home Office, the home secretary said: "From the very day that Sarah went missing, I have been, clearly, in contact with the Metropolitan Police and putting forward some questions around the conduct of the potential suspect at the time and all the requirements and checks that should have been put in place."

When asked if Dame Cressida should resign, she said: "I will continue to work with the Metropolitan Police and the commissioner to hold them to account as everybody would expect me to do."