Wayne Couzens: I could not have changed tragic outcome, ex-Met PC says

Samantha Lee denies breaching Met Police standards in her investigation of Wayne Couzens

A former Met Police officer accused of failing to properly investigate Wayne Couzens has said nothing she did could have "changed the tragic outcome".

Couzens killed Sarah Everard in south-west London soon after exposing himself to staff at a branch of McDonald's.

Samantha Lee is accused of failing to make "the correct investigative inquiries" into two flashing incidents.

She admitted to a disciplinary hearing making some errors in the investigation but denies gross misconduct.

• PC missed chance to investigate Couzens - hearing

• Wayne Couzens CCTV shown to Met PC - hearing

The hearing has been told how Ms Lee - who is no longer a police officer but was a PC at the time - attended the fast-food restaurant in Swanley to interview the manager on 3 March, hours before Ms Everard was kidnapped in Clapham and murdered by Couzens.

Ms Lee originally claimed after this interview that she believed there was no CCTV footage of the two flashing incidents involving Couzens, as the restaurant's footage had been deleted automatically. It is alleged that this was a lie.

Wayne Couzens was already serving life for murdering Sarah Everard when he was sentenced for indecent exposure earlier this year

On Thursday, Ms Lee said: "I accept now that there was CCTV and that I should have asked more questions about it."

However, she told the tribunal there was nothing she could have done that would have stopped Couzens from kidnapping and murdering Ms Everard.

"I accept that I could have done more around CCTV and evidence-gathering; that was errors on my part and I accept that," she said.

"And as much as I have thought it over and over, I don't believe that anything I could have done would have changed the tragic outcome of what happened later that day."

CCTV footage showed Couzens' car at the McDonald's drive-through

Ms Lee is accused of breaching the Met Police'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 in the force again.

In March, Couzens was sentenced to 19 months after admitting indecent exposure. He was already serving a whole-life prison sentence for kidnap and murder.

The misconduct hearing continues.

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