Sarah Everard: Met Police officers in Wayne Couzens WhatsApp group named

Wayne Couzens is serving a whole-life prison sentence

Two police constables and an ex-officer charged with sharing "grossly offensive" messages with Wayne Couzens have been named by prosecutors.

PC Jonathon Cobban, 35, PC William Neville, 33, and former officer Joel Borders, 45, will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 16 March.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had said it could not release their names

Couzens, 49, raped and murdered Sarah Everard while working for the Met, after kidnapping her in a fake arrest.

PC Cobban and Mr Borders are each charged with five counts of sending grossly offensive messages on a public communications network. PC Neville faces two counts of the same offence.

'Operational reasons'

The alleged offences took place between April and August 2019, two years before the murder of the 33-year-old marketing executive.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the charges arose from an investigation into the phone records of Couzens.

The Met said the serving officers had been suspended from duty.

Last week, when the charges were first announced, the CPS said that it could not release the men's names due to "operational reasons".

But on Monday their identities were published, as is standard in criminal cases after charges have been brought.

Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Bas Javid said: "I am deeply concerned to hear two serving officers and a former officer have been charged with these offences.

"I understand that the public will be very concerned too.

"Criminal proceedings must now take their course."