‘Every single person’: Call for all police officers to be re-vetted in wake of Sarah Everard murder
Every police officer in the UK should be re-vetted following the sentencing of Wayne Couzens, a former senior Metropolitan Police chief superintendent has said.
Parm Sandhu told Sky News she had “real concerns” more people “with questionable backgrounds” had been missed under current vetting procedures.
She spoke after Couzens was given a whole life order for the kidnap, rape, and murder of Sarah Everard.
The 48-year-old serving Met officer abducted Ms Everard under the guise of an arrest as she walked home from a friend’s house in south London on 3 March.
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Sarah Everard murder: How it happened
The police watchdog is investigating five officers over claims they traded misogynistic, racist, and homophobic material with Couzens over WhatsApp months before he killed Ms Everard, according to a report in The Times.
Ms Sandhu told Sky News’ Trevor Phillips on Sunday that Couzens was a “monster in uniform”, but added: “Unfortunately there is a culture where he was allowed to flourish.
“And the WhatsApp group that he was a part of, and other people are, is just one sign of that.”
“Everybody who works in policing now should be re-vetted. Those people who got through the vetting procedure 20 years ago, 30 years ago, all of them,” she said.
“Every single person needs to be reviewed and if anything comes up in their past – it doesn’t have to be a conviction, it just needs to come to notice, because this man did come to notice.
“It needs to be done now as an urgent measure to reassure the public and rebuild the trust and confidence that policing has lost, but it needs to be done on a regular basis so that we don’t have anybody that even comes close to the actions of Wayne Couzens.”
She continued: “This man not only got through the vetting after indecency offences in 2015, in 2018 he was taken into the Met – he was then given a gun to carry on the streets of London, so that was another form of vetting.”
Wayne Couzens was given a whole life order for the murder of Ms Everard
Ms Everard’s case has led to calls for Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick to step down in light of the erosion of trust in the force.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative party leader told Sky News it is time for a “new broom” in the Metropolitan Police and said there were “issues here about leadership and focus”.
He added: “The idea that a man can flash as a police officer … and people think it’s funny. I think that’s the thing that’s really failed. Why in hell’s name wasn’t he [Wayne Couzens] immediately reported, suspended at least pending full investigation, or sacked.”
It has also since emerged that Couzens was deployed to the Parliamentary Estate five times last year.
The Commons Speaker is seeking urgent talks with Commissioner Dick following the revelation.
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Watch Met Police commissioner’s apology
Ms Sandhu said the only way to rebuild public trust would be if everyone working in policing was re-vetted, and also called for an independent inquiry.
“I believe there are other individuals who have got questionable backgrounds who should be being looked at, not just in the Met but right up and down the country, and I think we have missed that,” she said.
“Instead of looking backwards, we should be looking forward and making sure those individuals are being targeted now.”
This process should be repeated on a “regular basis”, she added.
It comes as Police Scotland introduced a “simple” verification check for lone officers, to provide reassurance to the public they are genuine.
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Are women safe on our streets?
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A man has been arrested by police investigating a “significant” wildfire that triggered a major incident in Northern Ireland.
More than 100 firefighters and 15 fire appliances were deployed on Saturday to Sandbank Road, Hilltown, to tackle the blaze which is believed to have been caused deliberately, fire chiefs said.
Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) said the fire had a front of approximately two miles “including a large area of forestry close to property”.
It was extinguished at 2.53am on Sunday and the major incident status lifted, the NIFRS said.
“The cause of this fire is believed to have been deliberate,” chief fire and rescue officer Aidan Jennings said.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said on Sunday that a 25-year-old man had been arrested “on suspicion of arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered, and non-related driving offences”.
“He remains in custody at this time as enquiries continue into the circumstances surrounding the fire,” the force added.
The wildfire on Sandbank Road, Hilltown. Pic: Sky Watch NI
More than 100 firefighters were at the scene of the fire. Pic: Sky Watch NI
Various fires erupted across England this week amid uncharacteristically warm and dry conditions for the time of year.
On Saturday, helicopters were deployed to tackle Scotland’s fourth wildfire this week, with police saying a blaze “which started in the Newton Stewart area has spread northwards and is expected to reach the Loch Doon area of East Ayrshire around 12am on Sunday”.
Police Scotland added: “As a precautionary measure members of the public are asked to avoid the Loch Doon area and anyone who may be camping in the area is advised to leave.”
Moors Valley Country Park blackened by fires this week
Elsewhere in England, Devon and Cornwall Police said they were assisting the fire service with temporary road closures on the A30 in the Bolventor area as they tackle “a number of fires” on moorland.
In Dorset, Moors Valley Country Park was forced to close after multiple wildfires broke out there on Wednesday.
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Wildfires spread across nature reserve
Separate incidents were then reported at Upton Heath in Poole on Wednesday, and nearby Canford Heath in the early hours of Thursday.
Friday was officially the warmest day of the year so far – with temperatures in the south of England reaching 23C (73.4F) – the highest since 21 September last year, according to the Met Office.
The weather conditions triggered a “severe” wildfire rating for parts of the UK on Tuesday.
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