Image source, PA Media

An extract from the foreword of the Angiolini Inquiry's report:, external

"Throughout this inquiry I have sought evidence and understanding of the depraved actions of Wayne Couzens but at no time have I, or the team with whom I have been so privileged to work, lost sight of the daily agony that continues for Sarah’s loving family and friends...

"While this inquiry has been a sorrowful undertaking, it has provided the inquiry team with the opportunity to get to know Sarah’s loving family.

"Their courage and determination that Sarah’s tragic death should bring about greater and earlier recognition of potential sexual and murderous predators, and thereby help improve the safety of women in public spaces, has been humbling.

"It has been an immense privilege to get to know them.

"The course of Sarah’s promising and loving life was brought to an appalling halt on 3 March 2021. Sarah was walking home along a busy London street when she was abducted, and then raped and murdered, by Couzens, an off-duty police officer serving with the Metropolitan Police Service.

We'll be closing our live coverage shortly - you can read more about the report's conclusions here.

This page was edited by Alex Therrien, Owen Amos and Jemma Crew. The writers were Gianluca Avagnina, Jacqueline Howard, Anna Boyd, Esme Stallard and Jake Lapham.

Our final post will quote from Lady Angiolini's report, which you can read in full here., external

An inquiry into the 2021 murder of Sarah Everard, being led by Lady Elish Angiolini, has published a report focusing on her murderer, former police officer Wayne Couzens. Here are the key lines:

• The report said Wayne Couzens should never have been a police officer, and, after he joined the service in 2006, numerous opportunities to stop him were missed
• The inquiry uncovered evidence that Couzens was repeatedly accused of sexual abuse, including a "very serious sexual assault of a child barely into her teens" when he was in his 20s
• In 2015, Couzens' car was linked to a report of indecent exposure - but he was not even spoken to

• The report also found that when Couzens joined the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) in 2011, an outside force recommended that he should not be recruited, because of his financial debt
• Sarah Everard's family responded to the report by saying Sarah died because of Couzens' position as a police officer
• Home Secretary James Cleverly said his department was "taking action to address public confidence in the police"
• He also announced automatic suspension of police officers charged with certain criminal offences

• National Police Chiefs' Council chair Chief Constable Gavin Stephens said he was "aghast" at the red flags that were missed before the murder
• And Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said the report paints a stark picture that forces are starting from an incredibly low base when it comes to vetting

Earlier, Lady Elish Angiolini appeared on BBC Radio 4's World at One programme, following the release of her report this morning.

She was asked whether someone like Wayne Couzens could get a job right now as a police officer.

She replied that she "can't give you an assurance that there aren't other Wayne Couzens in the police force operating in plain sight".

Watch the exchange with Sarah Montague below.

That news conference by senior police officers has just concluded.

We'll continue to bring you any reaction to Lady Elish Angiolini's report as we receive it.

Judith Burns
At the news conference

Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley says the report paints a stark picture that forces are starting from an incredibly low base when it comes to vetting.

However, he says progress is slowly being made.

He says the report sets the "gold standard" as to what has to be done.

Chief Constable Simon Chesterman of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary adds: "Wayne Couzens should not have been in the police service and we unreservedly apologise."

All the officers speaking at the NPCC press conference say repeatedly that Couzens should never have been a police officer.

Couzens went through some vetting when he joined the Metropolitan Police in 2018 from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary.

In her report, Lady Angiolini said if this was more thorough it would have picked up an allegation of indecent exposure by Couzens reported to the police three years earlier, and at least five other incidents which were not reported to police - one an alleged serious sexual assault against a child.

Andy Marsh, chief executive of the College of Policing, says the vetting process will be tightened up as per the report's recommendation.

"No vetting, no job," says Marsh.

But he also says stricter vetting is not enough - there aneeds to be a change in behaviour and "emboldening" officers to say "not in this police force, not now, not ever".

Stephens hands over to Maggie Blyth, who is deputy chief constable and deputy chief executive of the College of Policing.

Until last year, Blyth was also the National Police Lead for Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) at the NPCC

She calls the murder of Sarah Everard one of the "darkest days in policing history", which triggered a "watershed moment".

She says despite new national standards, "you only have to look at the statistics to see how far we have to go".

NPCC chair, Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, begins by saying he is "aghast" at the red flags that were missed before Wayne Couzens murdered Sarah.

He describes it as a "harrowing murder" by someone who "abused a position of trust".

It caused "untold suffering", Stephens says.

"His offending should have been stopped sooner and this should have never happened."

"I apologise to any woman or girl that has fallen victim to abuse by a police officer."

We'll bring you the main lines as soon as we can.

We are expecting the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) to give a statement shortly.

The NPCC brings together leaders from forces across the country to coordinate their work on the most significant issues in policing.

We have already heard from the NPCC chair, Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, this morning, who apologised to Sarah's family and said of the Angiolini Inquiry report:

"This is a glowing red signal to all police leaders that we must do everything humanly possible to enact these recommendations and change policing for future generations."

We are expecting Stephens to speak at this press conference along with:

• Andy Marsh, chief executive of the College of Policing
• Maggie Blyth, deputy chief constable and deputy chief executive of the College of Policing. She was also the National Police Lead for Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) at the NPCC until last year
• Simon Chesterman, chief constable of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary - where Couzens worked between 2011 and 2018.

Image source, Reuters

Let's jump back to proceedings in the Commons briefly, where Home Secretary James Cleverly has been responding to questions about this morning's report.

Shadow minister Florence Eshalomi raised the policing of a vigil for Sarah in Clapham Common in March 2021, during the coronavirus lockdown.

As a reminder, Met Police officers clashed with mourners, and handcuffed protester Patsy Stevenson, leading to allegations of heavy handedness. Stevenson and another woman were later paid damages by the Met Police.

Eshalomi said "women wanted to come together to show that solidarity" at the vigil.

"Does (Cleverly) not agree that for those very same women to come forward that they need confidence in the police, and that includes suspending those police officers who have acted inappropriately at the first hurdle - no ifs, no buts," Eshalomi asked.

"The policing of the vigil for Sarah Everard was awful," Cleverly responded.

"It took what was already an incredibly painful set of circumstances and made it worse, and I've spoken to police officers that recognise that and I will continue to speak about leadership."

Judith Burns
Reporting from the inquiry

Part one of Lady Elish Angiolini's report has made a number of recommendations. She says they're being made now because certain issues require "immediate action".

Here are the main ones:

• Better national guidance and training to improve investigation of indecent exposure cases, particularly cases involving masturbation
• A public information campaign to raise awareness of the illegality of indecent exposure, including the sending of unsolicited photographs
• Better vetting, including in-person interviews and home visits for everyone applying to be a police officer, plus a robust assessment of their psychological suitability. Anyone with a sexual offence conviction or caution automatically rejected
• Better information sharing between forces to flag vetting failures
• Police officers and staff to face randomised re-vetting throughout their careers
• Zero tolerance of sexist, misogynistic and racist “banter” in every police force
• Greater efforts to recruit more female officers and better support for staff who report sexual offences by fellow officers

Image source, PA Media

Lady Angiolini made recommendations for improved vetting of those looking to join the force, but what about those existing officers?

Since the convictions of Wayne Couzens and David Carrick, a serial rapist, the Metropolitan Police leadership took the decision to review previous cases including where officers faced allegations of domestic or sexual violence but no action was taken from the last 10 years

As a result of that there are now more than 1,000 Met officers currently suspended or on restricted duties - this represents one in 34 of the overall force.

Around one in three staff had been cleared out of the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, the elite team in which Couzens and Carrick served.

The unit, which guards sites including Parliament and embassies in London, is made up of around 1,000 officers, three-quarters of whom are armed.

Policing by consent relies on trustpublished at 13:38 GMT 29 February 2024

13:38 GMT 29 February 2024

Mark Easton
Home editor

Londoners’ faith in the capital’s police force has never been worse. Eight years ago, trust in the Metropolitan Police was 88% and confidence officers would do a good job was at 68%. The latest figures find trust in the force at 70% and confidence at 48% - both record lows.

The Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley knows that Operation Turnaround, his efforts to win back public support after a series of scandals, will take time. The stream of bad stories about Scotland Yard continues as new checks reveal more wrongdoing and the spotlight remains on the dark underbelly of the force.

Rowley pledged today to go "further and faster" to earn back trust, while Home Secretary James Cleverly said Sarah Everard's murder had laid bare policing issues that “need to be urgently fixed".

Lady Angiolini’s warning that there is "nothing to stop another Couzens operating in plain sight" suggests police forces in England and Wales remain unable to protect women and girls from rogue officers, an accusation that has infuriated some senior policing figures, desperate to restore trust in their officers.

But there are concerns that neither the Home Office nor police forces are moving fast enough.

Labour argues the Home Office should implement some of Angiolini’s recommendations on indecent exposure and vetting immediately. Cleverly says he wants time to study the report.

Britain’s long tradition of policing by consent - the idea that officers serve as members of the public in uniform – relies on trust. The question is whether today marks progress or deterioration in the public’s relationship with those charged with protecting them.

Image source, PA Media

The findings from the first part of the Angiolini Inquiry were published earlier this morning, and reaction has been coming in thick and fast since.

Here's a recap of what's happened today:

• The report found Couzens had a long history of allegations of sexual offending - dating back nearly 20 years - and openly shared liking violent pornography
• The inquiry said Couzens should never have been a police officer and detailed the missed opportunities to prevent his predatory behaviour before he went on to murder Sarah Everard in March 2021 after kidnapping her under the false guise of an arrest
• Responding to the inquiry, Sarah's family said they believed she died because Couzens was a police officer, as she would never have got into a stranger’s car otherwise
• London's Metropolitan Police commissioner Mark Rowley said the report exposed long-standing "fundamental flaws" in the police recruitment and vetting process and was an "urgent call to action". Kent Police said its accepted the inquiry's findings and apologised for improperly investigating a report that Couzens indecently exposed himself in 2015
• Home Secretary James Cleverly said he would speed up efforts to reform the culture in policing, conceding there is a "huge" amount of work to be done
• But shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper described Cleverly's response as "weak", that the government's response has been too little and too late, and that today's report should be a "watershed" moment

Lady Elish Angiolini says the "fragility of public trust in confidence in policing affects us all".

She says police leaders need to be sure that there "isn't another Couzens operating in plain sight".

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has responded to the report, which he says "shines a light on systematic failings in police investigations, vetting and the handling of misconduct allegations".

Khan says Londoners and the wider public "rightly deserve answers" as to how a police officer was able to murder Sarah Everard.

“The public deserve better from the Met and police forces across the country.

"There must be no hiding place for those who abuse their position of trust and authority within the police."

A few moments ago, the home secretary responded to Yvette Cooper, who has called for a stronger response from him.

Cleverly says there is still much work to do, and that he understands there is frustration that not enough has happened or moved fast enough to change the culture of the police.

He takes issue with her assertion that nothing has changed - he says there have been a number of recent improvements, which he has observed in visits to a station himself upon taking office.

He does concede, however, that the improvements he saw have not been universally applied across all stations, and there is a "huge" amount of work to ensure the "least well performing forces match performance of best".

"We are not waiting for the outcome of the second inquiry before we take action," Cleverly says, and commits to continue to push for a cultural change in society and policing to ensure where issues are flagged, as they were in Couzens' case, they are taken seriously and investigated properly to make sure something like this never happens again.

Cooper continues that the report this morning should be a "watershed" moment, but she says the same word was used when Sarah was murdered three years ago and "far too little has changed".

"How long must we go on and say the same things," she says.

"I am sick and tired of nothing changing, sick and tired of women and girls who face violence not getting support while perpetrators get away with it.

"Enough is enough," Cooper says as she takes her seat again.