Sarah Everard: Chairwoman of inquiry into murder announced

Sarah Everard was kidnapped and raped by PC Wayne Couzens after he falsely arrested her in Clapham, south London, in March

An independent inquiry into the murder of Sarah Everard will receive greater powers if the newly appointed chairwoman is unable to fulfil her remit, the home secretary has said.

Priti Patel announced that Dame Elish Angiolini QC is to chair the two-part inquiry.

Met Police officer Wayne Couzens staged a fake arrest to kidnap Ms Everard before he raped and murdered her.

The first part of the inquiry will look at Couzens' conduct during his career.

It will examine whether any red flags were missed and whether allegations made against him were properly handled.

The second part of the inquiry will look at specific issues raised by part one, which will report to the home secretary as soon as possible.

Priti Patel says the public has a right to know why Wayne Couzens was able to continue working as a police officer

Ms Patel, who branded Couzens a "monster", said the inquiry would proceed on a non-statutory basis in a bid to give Ms Everard's family "closure as quickly as possible".

She added to MPs: "Statutory inquiries can be long-running with limited flexibility; sometimes recommendations are not made for a number of years.

"However, I will not rule out converting this on to a statutory footing should Dame Elish feel that she's unable to fulfil the terms of reference on a non-statutory basis.

"Sarah Everard's life was ended too early by an evil man whose job it was to protect her.

"We owe it to her and her loved ones and her family to prevent something like this from ever happening again."

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Ms Patel added: "Dame Elish is an exceptionally distinguished lawyer, academic and public servant.

"Her extensive experience includes a review of deaths in police custody, as well as a review for the Scottish government on the handling of complaints and alleged misconduct against police officers."

Dame Elish said in a statement: "The murder of Sarah Everard was profoundly shocking and I will ensure that the issues raised from this dreadful tragedy are fully investigated and the necessary lessons learned."