UK
Sarah Everard’s murderer Wayne Couzens should be stripped of police pension, says London Mayor Sadiq Khan
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called for Sarah Everard’s murderer to be stripped of the pension he earned for his job before the Metropolitan Police.
Wayne Couzens, who was given a whole-life sentence for murdering and raping Ms Everard, will no longer receive his Met pension after Mr Khan applied to the Home Office to deny him of it.
But in a letter, Mr Khan claims that 50-year-old Couzens is still entitled to a pension from his time with the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) between 2011 and 2018.
The CNC, which safeguards the UK’s nuclear facilities, is run by the UK Atomic Energy Agency (UKAEA).
Sarah Everard was murdered by Couzens in March 2021
Mr Khan has therefore written to Energy Secretary Grant Shapps to ask him to take similar measures as the Home Secretary did over Couzens’ pension.
He wrote: “I note that Couzens joined the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) in 2011 as a constable. When he transferred to the MPS in 2018, he did not transfer his pension service.
“It remains there, and is not covered by the pension forfeiture certificate I was able to obtain as it sits outside the normal police pension regulations.”
Mr Khan says this means Couzens would have seven years’ of a deferred pension.
A spokesperson for the mayor added: “It will be totally unacceptable if Couzens remains entitled to a single penny of his pension – it would be very difficult for his victims and the wider public to comprehend.
“The rules need to be tightened to ensure anyone who commits such abhorrent crimes can have their publicly-funded pension removed swiftly and in full.”
Read more:
How Sarah Everard’s killer was caught
Met officer ‘repeatedly raped by colleague’
Couzens was jailed for life in September 2021 after he abducted, raped and murdered Ms Everard, 33, in south London in March that year.
He was further found guilty of three counts of indecent exposure in February, which he committed days before he killed Ms Everard.
The Met last month was found to be institutionally misogynistic, racist and homophobic in a report carried out by Baroness Louise Casey following Ms Everard’s death.