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A police officer used COVID lockdown regulations to falsely arrest Sarah Everard before he kidnapped, raped and strangled her and then burned her body, a court has heard.

Wayne Couzens, 48, used handcuffs and his Metropolitan Police-issue warrant card to snatch his victim as she walked home from a friend’s house in Clapham, south London, on the evening of 3 March.

Images seen at the Old Bailey showed Ms Everard talking to her killer moments before he abducted her.

Couzens sentencing day one – as it happened

Imae taken from Police released video - Wayne Couzens and Sarah Everard on the pavement and appears to hold something out to her 
(Footage from private vehicle)
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Sarah Everard and Wayne Couzens pictured moments before he abducted her in Clapham
Imae taken from Police released video - Wayne Couzens and Sarah Everard on the pavement and appears to hold something out to her 
(Footage from private vehicle)
Image:
Wayne Couzens and Sarah Everard before she was kidnapped, as he appears to hold something out to her

The firearms officer, who had finished a 12-hour shift at the US Embassy that morning, drove to a remote rural area northwest of Dover in Kent, where he parked up and raped Ms Everard.

The 33-year-old marketing executive, who lived in Brixton, south London, was strangled with Couzens’ police belt by 2.30am the following morning.

Couzens then burned her body in a refrigerator in an area of woodland he owned near Ashford, Kent, before dumping the remains in a nearby pond.

Days later, amid extensive publicity about Ms Everard’s disappearance, Couzens took his wife and children on a day out to the woods, allowing the youngsters to play close by.

Couzens was at the Old Bailey for a two-day sentencing hearing.

In other evidence, the court heard:

Statements read by Ms Everard’s family, in which they said she had been “fly tipped… like she meant nothing”

• Evidence including a fragment of a SIM card and a blood stain in Couzens’ car linked him to the crimes

• The prosecution argued that the crime was so serious a whole life sentence should be considered

'Each day dawns and I think, Sarah should be here, leading her life and embracing new experiences,' her mother Susan Everard says
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Sarah’s mum told the court her daughter wanted to marry and have children

Ms Everard’s family told the court about the “unbearable” suffering they have been through.

Her mother, Susan, said she was “repulsed” by Couzens and “outraged that he masqueraded as a policeman”, adding that Sarah had wanted to get married and have children.

Her father, Jeremy, said his daughter’s murder is on his mind “all the time”, while her sister Katie broke down in tears and said Couzens had “fly-tipped” Sarah “like she meant nothing”.

The crime involved “significant” planning and Ms Everard was alive for hours before being raped and murdered, prosecutor Tom Little QC said.

Handout CCTV dated 03/03/21 issued by the Metropolitan Police of Sarah Everard at Sainsbury's in Brixton Hill, south London. 48-year-old former Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzen appeared at the Old Bailey in London, on Wednesday for the first day of a two-day sentence hearing after pleading guilty to the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard. Issue date: Wednesday September 29, 2021.
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Sarah Everard at a supermarket in Brixton Hill on the day she was abducted
Handout CCTV dated 03/03/21 taken between 6.00pm and 6.00pm issued by the Metropolitan Police of Sarah Everard leaving a branch of Sainsbury's in Brixton Hill, south London. Former Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens has appeared at the Old Bailey in London, on Wednesday for the first day of a two-day sentence hearing after pleading guilty to the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard. Issue date: Wednesday September 29, 2021.
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Sarah leaving the branch of Sainsbury’s at 6pm

The circumstances of the murder are so exceptional that it could warrant a whole life sentence, he added. Couzens, who was sacked by the Metropolitan Police after admitting murdering Ms Everard, is due to discover his jail sentence on Thursday.

Speaking during the first day of a two-day sentencing hearing, Mr Little said Couzens took his wife and two children on a family trip to Hoads Wood on 7 March, where only days earlier he had set fire to Ms Everard’s body.

En route, he withdrew cash from the same service station he had been to shortly after raping and murdering his victim, the court heard.

Mr Little said he “took his family on a family trip to the very woods where days earlier he had left Sarah Everard’s body, then returned to burn it and then returned again to move it and hide it”.

Handout CCTV dated 03/03/21 issued by the Metropolitan Police of Wayne Couzens' hire car by the side of the road in Poynders Court, South London. The 48-year-old former Metropolitan Police officer appeared at the Old Bailey in London, on Wednesday for the first day of a two-day sentence hearing after pleading guilty to the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard. Issue date: Wednesday September 29, 2021.
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Couzens’ hire car in Clapham on the night he abducted Sarah Everard
Serving Met Police officer Wayne Couzens has pleaded guilty to the murder of Sarah Everard
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Couzens pleaded guilty to the murder of Sarah Everard

Couzens allowed his children to play in “relatively close proximity to where Ms Everard’s body had been dumped in the pond”, he added.

He was arrested on 9 March and Ms Everard’s body was found the following a day – a week after she went missing.

Opening the hearing, Mr Little said Couzens’ crimes could be summarised in five words: “Deception, kidnap, rape, strangulation, fire.”

Ms Everard had had dinner with a friend in Clapham Junction and was on her way home to Brixton when she was “arrested” by Couzens during the third coronavirus lockdown.

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‘Sarah Everard was handcuffed before abduction’

Couzens, then a serving diplomatic protection officer, handcuffed her at about 9.34pm after showing her his warrant card, the court heard.

Mr Little said Couzens was familiar with coronavirus regulations and may have used lockdown rules to falsely detain Ms Everard.

She was described by a former long-term boyfriend as “extremely intelligent, savvy and streetwise” and “not a gullible person” who he could envisage getting into a car with a stranger “unless by force or manipulation”.

Couzens was said to be wearing his police belt with handcuffs and a rectangular black pouch, similar to a pepper spray holder, when he confronted Ms Everard.

He put her in the back of a Vauxhall Astra – hired using his own personal details and bank card – at around 9.37pm.

The married father-of-two set off for Kent, 80 miles away, a minute later. At around 11.30pm, Ms Everard was transferred from the hire car to Couzens’ own Seat car, which was left in a non-residential area of Dover.

Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of prosecutor Tom Little QC speaking as former Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens, 48, sits in the dock at the Old Bailey
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Court sketch of prosecutor Tom Little QC speaking as former Metropolitan Police officer Couzens sits in the dock at the Old Bailey
Sarah Everard's body was found in woodland in Ashford, Kent
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Sarah Everard’s body was found in a woodland in Ashford, Kent – metres from land owned by Couzens

Couzens then drove to a remote rural area northwest of Dover where he parked up and raped Ms Everard, the court was told.

The Seat was picked up on an ANPR camera on a road in the town at 2.31am. “It is by this point that Sarah Everard is most likely to have been murdered,” Mr Little said.

The moment Couzens confronted Ms Everard in south London was caught on security footage and witnessed by a couple travelling in a car.

Ms Everard was a mile from home when cameras from two buses, a refuse lorry and a marked police car caught footage of Couzens talking to her by the car, which was parked on the pavement with its hazard lights on and doors open.

The female passenger in the other vehicle said she saw Couzens and Ms Everard standing on the pavement. She watched as Ms Everard was handcuffed, Mr Little told the court.

“Sarah Everard was compliant, with her head down and did not appear to be arguing,” he said.

Mr Little added that the female passenger believed she was witnessing an undercover police officer arresting a woman whom she assumed “must have done something wrong”.

Handout CCTV dated 05/03/21 taken between 1.43pm and 2.01pm issued by the Metropolitan Police of Wayne Couzens making a purchase at the checkout in a branch of B&Q in Dover, Kent. Former Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens has appeared at the Old Bailey in London, on Wednesday for the first day of a two-day sentence hearing after pleading guilty to the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard. Issue date: Wednesday September 29, 2021.
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Couzens at a branch of B&Q in Dover on 5 March, two days after be abducted Ms Everard
File photo dated 14/03/2021 of police outside the home of Wayne Couzens, in Freemens Way in Deal, Kent, after a body found hidden in woodland in Ashford was identified as that of 33-year-old Sarah Everard. Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens, 48, has pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey in London to the murder of Sarah Everard. Issue date: Friday July 9, 2021.
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Police outside Couzens’ home in Freemens Way in Deal, Kent

She remarked to her husband that she had seen “a woman being handcuffed” when “they were in fact witnessing the kidnapping of Sarah Everard”, Mr Little said.

The next day, 4 March, Couzens took Ms Everard’s mobile phone and threw it into a river in Sandwich, Kent. A broken fragment of an EE sim card from the phone was later found in his Seat, the court heard.

In addition, a blood stain was found on a rear passenger seat which matched Ms Everard’s DNA, the court heard.

Semen which matched Couzens’ DNA was also found on the back seat, the hearing was told.

Couzens, who the court heard was thousands of pounds in debt, wiped his phone just minutes before he was arrested at his home in Deal on 9 March.

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In a video shown at the Old Bailey, Couzens was seen sitting on his sofa, with his hands in cuffs, being quizzed by police.

An officer repeatedly asked if Couzens knew where Ms Everard was, saying her “family and friends are worried about her”.

Couzens, who offered no resistance, initially denied knowing her, claiming he only knew of her disappearance from watching the news.

He then told detectives he was “in financial s***” and that he had been “leant on” by a gang to pick up girls after he tried to “rip off” a sex worker he had booked online.

The following day, a week after Ms Everard disappeared, her body was found in a stream in Ashford, Kent, just metres from land owned by Couzens.

Fragments of her clothing were found in nearby woodland, where her body had previously been burnt.

A police officer used COVID-19 lockdown regulations to kidnap Ms Everard in a false arrest before he raped her, strangled her and burnt her body, a court has heard
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Sarah’s sister said she was the ‘very best person’

Mr Little said that while Couzens was in the wood he must have “moved Sarah Everard’s heavily burnt body from where he had set fire to it, to the pond where she was subsequently found” using bags he bought from B&Q on 5 March.

In July, Couzens pleaded guilty to Ms Everard’s murder, kidnap and rape via video link from jail.

Couzens told a psychiatrist he strangled Ms Everard with his police belt, which tallied with the conclusions of a post-mortem examination which found she died from compression of the neck.

While in custody, he deliberately hit his head on the toilet bowl in his cell, suffering a cut, shortly before he was about to be interviewed, the court heard.

An ambulance was called and he was taken to hospital for treatment, before being placed under constant supervision after returning to the police station.

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Couzens ‘should never have been near a uniform’

The court heard how Couzens would wear his police belt and handcuffs while off duty and had a profile on dating site Match.com in which he gave various false details about himself. He was also in contact with an escort through an escort service.

The police watchdog has received a string of referrals relating to the Couzens case, with 12 police officers being investigated.

A senior investigator on the Sarah Everard case, former DCI Simon Harding, told Sky News that police “do not view” Couzens as a fellow officer and that he “should never have been near a uniform”.

Speaking outside the Old Bailey in July, Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said she was “very sorry” for the loss, pain and suffering of the Everard family.

She said: “All of us in the Met are sickened, angered and devastated by this man’s truly dreadful crimes. Everyone in policing feels betrayed.”

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Sarah Everard was ‘handcuffed and powerless’

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it was looking at whether the Met failed to investigate two allegations of indecent exposure relating to Couzens in February, just days before the killing.

Kent Police is also being investigated over its response to a third allegation of indecent exposure dating back to 2015.

Ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, a spokesperson from the Metropolitan Police said: “We are sickened, angered and devastated by this man’s crimes which betray everything we stand for.

“Our thoughts are with Sarah’s family and her many friends. It is not possible for us to imagine what they are going through.

“We recognise his actions raise many questions and concerns but we will not be commenting further until the hearing is complete.”

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How e-bike riders are doing double the speed limit – and many of them work for fast food delivery firms

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How e-bike riders are doing double the speed limit - and many of them work for fast food delivery firms

It’s lunchtime on Birmingham’s New Street. 

Close to its many restaurants, food delivery riders are congregating on their bikes.

The area is packed with shoppers and workers.

PC Paige Gartlan is approaching with other officers. She’s on the lookout for illegally modified e-bikes – and she knows she’ll find them here.

“You can physically tell by looking at the bike that it’s generally going to be illegal – the battery pack is taped on to the sides and generally the size of the motor that’s on the back wheel,” she explains.

Sky News has been invited on an operation by West Midlands Police to find these bikes and get them off the streets.

PC Gartlan has been hit by one before. She’s had to tackle a rider to the floor after he drove into her.

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Within minutes, she’s spotted a suspicious-looking bike. The rider makes a run for it – followed by plain-clothed officers.

PC Gartlan tests the bike – it’s showing a top speed of 52km/hr on the speedometer – just over 30mph.

PC Paige Gartlan with a seized e-bike
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PC Paige Gartlan with a seized e-bike

The speed limit for e-bikes in the UK is 15.5mph when using electric power for assistance.

I look up the street and another two riders have been detained. In less than an hour, officers have confiscated four bikes – all were being ridden by fast food delivery drivers.

The commotion is attracting a lot of attention.

“They are dangerous,” Sandra, who has just finished work, tells me.

Demoz had his bike taken by police
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Demoz had his bike taken by police

She’s stood watching the riders being questioned. She says she’s had near-misses herself and is worried for the safety of the elderly and children.

It’s not just West Midlands police officers here – immigration officials are carrying out checks too. They’re involved in a nationwide operation, which has seen more than 7,000 arrests in the last year – a 50% increase on last year.

Matthew Foster, the immigration enforcement lead officer for the West Midlands, tells me they’ve already found one individual who has entered the UK unlawfully.

“He’s been detained,” he says, “to affect his removal from the UK.”

Further down the street, police are loading illegally modified bikes on to a van – they’re destined to be crushed. One of them had belonged to Demoz.

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E-bike and e-scooter crimes soar 730% in five years

A e-bike that was seized by police in West Midlands
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An e-bike seized by West Midlands Police

He’s on his way home, carrying a big box with the logo of one of the main fast food delivery firms on it.

He tells me he used to have an illegal bike, but he thought his new one was legal.

“I make a mistake, I have to say sorry, I will do better for the future,” he says.

I get in touch with the big delivery firms; Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat.

Their representatives say they constantly remind workers of their safety obligations, and that they’re all working closely with the government to increase security checks on riders.

As he leaves, Demoz, now bike-free, tells me he’s thinking of changing his job.

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I can’t help feel Harry’s team are trying to push the reset button – here’s why

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I can't help feel Harry's team are trying to push the reset button - here's why

Watching pictures of Prince Harry in Angola this week took me back to 2019, when we were there for his first visit following in Princess Diana’s footsteps.

The pictures on Wednesday looked so similar; his effortless interactions with people who face the daily dangers of landmines, and his obvious passion to help a charity that he cares deeply about.

Of course so much has happened in the six years since then, but with other headlines this week, I couldn’t help but feel like we could be looking at the beginning of a reset for Harry.

It started last Saturday night, as the story emerged of a meeting between the King’s communications secretary, Harry’s new London-based head of PR, and Harry’s most senior aide in America.

Three people you may not have heard of, but a meeting that was quickly described as “peace talks”.

File photo dated 12/12/18 of King Charles III, then Prince of Wales, and the Duke of Sussex during a discussion about violent youth crime at a forum held at Clarence House in London. The Duke of Sussex's relationship with the King remains "distant", with Harry's letters and calls to his father going unanswered, sources have said. Issue date: Tuesday April 15, 2025.
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The King and Prince Harry in 2018. Pic: PA

The pictures of the get-together were being sold for thousands of pounds by the paper that ran them, just one indication of the global fascination about whether father and son may be on the road to reconciliation.

Neither side are willing to go there when you ask what exactly they talked about, although I suspect some of it was much more practical than about trying to mend this fractured relationship.

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Things like trying to avoid unnecessary negative stories, for example, the kind where Harry is accused of snubbing his father because they just happen to be doing jobs on the same day.

Prince Harry meets landmine victim Sandra Tigica in Angola in 2019, who Princess Diana met on her visit to Angola in 1997.
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Prince Harry meets landmine victim Sandra Tigica in Angola in 2019, who Princess Diana met on her visit to Angola in 1997

It’s tricky for Harry’s camp to avoid such a situation when they don’t have sight of the King’s diary.

There’s also been the chatter about who may, or may not, have leaked the meeting.

There has been speculation around why they were out on a balcony, and who spotted the photographer in the park.

But whether it was a leak, or just a really good spot from a journalist or photographer, it’s not a bad thing for either side that we’re now all talking about whether father and son may be close to patching things up.

It did however raise other questions, about what it means for Prince William and his relationship with his brother.

So far there have been no indications of any meeting between William’s team and that of his brother.

The feelings of William also, you may think, a consideration for the King.

File photo dated 12/12/18 of King Charles III, then Prince of Wales, and the Duke of Sussex during a discussion about violent youth crime at a forum held at Clarence House in London. The Duke of Sussex's relationship with the King remains "distant", with Harry's letters and calls to his father going unanswered, sources have said. Issue date: Tuesday April 15, 2025.
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The King and Prince Harry in 2018. Pic: PA

The unexpected headlines around Harry just kept coming, as on Tuesday he popped up in Angola.

His second visit there, this time with no press pack in tow.

So why the surprise visit?

Harry has worked with the Halo Trust for some time, and it’s clearly still a priority for them to highlight the dangers faced by those living with the potential dangers of landmines in Angola.

But it also feels like part of a push to get Harry out on more public engagements.

I’ve been told that since moving away from the UK he has continued to have regular contact with those charities with which he’s maintained ties, but being on the phone or a video call, isn’t the same as physically being there in person.

We saw something similar with his trip to China with Travalyst earlier this year, some may argue not the best choice of destination, but another example of wanting to get him physically out on visits to reinforce publicly those connections with causes that matter so much to him.

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Prince Harry follows in Diana’s footsteps

For some months now it’s felt like Meghan has regained an element of control over how she wants to be seen.

Just look at her social media accounts and the success of her “As Ever” brand.

Whether Harry for the first time would step on to the social media scene with his own public account we wait to see, although the idea of his own commercial project is more likely, with suggestions something may be in the pipeline, we wait and see what.

After a constant flow of stories in recent months relating to court cases or his ongoing row with his family, this week has felt different.

A lot has been made about Harry and Meghan establishing a new “court” and what lies behind their decision to hire new people, five years after they stepped away from royal life.

There are of course elements of the recent past that it is impossible to erase, even Harry, in his recent interview talked of how he would “love reconciliation with my family” but added, “Of course, some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book. Of course, they will never forgive me for… lots of things.”

But it does feel like their new team are tentatively attempting to push the reset button; getting Harry out on more engagements just one way they hope to focus our minds back on to what he has always done best.

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Environment secretary pledges to cut sewage pollution from water companies in half by 2030

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Environment secretary pledges to cut sewage pollution from water companies in half by 2030

The environment secretary has pledged to halve sewage pollution from water companies by 2030.

The target – which is compared to 2024 levels – is to be announced by Steve Reed on Sunday morning – when the Labour minister is also set to appear on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips.

The government says it is the first time ministers have set a clear target to reduce sewage pollution.

The target is part of the government’s efforts to respond to record sewage spills and rising water bills.

Ministers are also aiming to cut phosphorus – which causes harmful algae blooms – in half by 2028.

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Why sewage outflows are discharging into rivers

Mr Reed said families had watched rivers, coastlines and lakes “suffer from record levels of pollution”.

“My pledge to you: the government will halve sewage pollution from water companies by the end of the decade,” he added.

The announcement comes ahead of the publication of the Independent Water Commission’s landmark review into the sector on Monday morning.

The commission was established by the UK and Welsh governments as part of their joint response to failures in the industry, but ministers have already said they’ll stop short of nationalising water companies.

On Friday, the Environment Agency published data which showed serious pollution incidents caused by water firms increased by 60% in England last year, compared with 2023.

Meanwhile, the watchdog has received a record £189m to support hundreds of enforcement officers for inspections and prosecutions.

“One of the largest infrastructure projects in England’s history will clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good,” Mr Reed said.

But the Conservatives have accused the Labour government of having so far “simply copied previous Conservative government policy”.

“Labour’s water plans must also include credible proposals to improve the water system’s resilience to droughts, without placing an additional burden on bill payers and taxpayers,” shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins added.

The Rivers Trust says sewage and wastewater discharges have taken place over the weekend, amid thunderstorms in parts of the UK.

Discharges take place to prevent the system from becoming overwhelmed, with storm overflows used to release extra wastewater and rainwater into rivers and seas.

Water company Southern Water said storm releases are part of the way sewage and drainage systems across the world protect homes, schools and hospitals from flooding.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed is due to appear on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips at 8.30am on Sky News.

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