Wayne Couzens CCTV shown to Met PC - hearing

Wayne Couzens is serving a whole-life term for the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard

A restaurant manager has contradicted evidence given by a former Met Police officer who said she was never shown CCTV footage of a car driven by Wayne Couzens when he exposed himself to female members of staff.

Samantha Lee is said to have failed to make "the correct investigative inquiries" over two flashing incidents involving Couzens, when she worked as a PC with the force.

Workers at a McDonald's restaurant in Swanley, Kent, said Couzens exposed himself to them on 14 and 27 February 2021.

Ms Lee attended the restaurant on 3 March to interview the manager, Sam Taylor, hours before Sarah Everard was kidnapped by Couzens in Clapham, south-west London.

Couzens' registration plate was visible on CCTV footage

Mr Taylor told a police disciplinary hearing he had shown Ms Lee the CCTV footage and told her it could be downloaded on to a USB stick.

"I showed her on the actual screen in the office," he said.

"I showed her what I looked at before using the time from the receipts and it shows the car coming around."

He said he explained to her that Couzens' registration plate could be seen in the CCTV footage of the second incident, and that he knew what times to play the CCTV at because of the details on Couzens' food receipts.

Samantha Lee denies allegations of gross misconduct

Mr Taylor told the hearing that had shown her all the evidence he had.

"I told her everything I knew and I explained how we caught him out the second time," he said.

He said that Ms Lee stayed at the restaurant for "probably" 10 minutes in total.

Ms Lee is alleged to have lied about her actions when later questioned about the interview, by saying she believed that the CCTV at the restaurant deleted automatically and so there was no useable CCTV evidence.

Ms Lee is said to have breached the force's standards regarding duties and responsibilities, as well as honesty and integrity.

If she is found to have committed gross misconduct, she could be banned from serving as a police officer again.

She denies the allegations. The hearing continues.