‘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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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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Weather warnings are in place for snow, wind and rain across much of the UK on New Year’s Day.
The start of 2025 will bring a “multi-hazard storm, combining severe gales, heavy rain and possibly significant snow as the rain runs into cold air,” said Sky News meteorologist Christopher England.
Pic: Met Office
The most significant snowfall on New Year’s Day will be from Donegal, across Northern Ireland and into the north of England and south of Scotland.
The wind looks strongest in the south, Mr England added, where 60mph winds are possible inland and 80mph gusts around the coasts of the Irish Sea.
The stormy weather continues on 2 January, with the Met Office issuing yellow weather warnings across England, Wales and parts of Scotland.
The UK has faced widespread disruption over the last few days, as thick fog descended.
Tens of thousands of passengers had flights delayed or cancelled, while drivers were warned about dangerous conditions with poor visibility.
Revellers are also set for a “wet and rather windy” New Year’s Eve, with the potential for a snowy Hogmanay in Scotland.
There could be some “possibly disruptive weather” on 31 December, Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge said, with Scotland likely to see the worst of it.
The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for winds of up to 70mph that may cause travel disruption on New Year’s Eve.
The alert, in place from 7am until 11pm on Tuesday, covers most of Northern Ireland as well as north of York in England up to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Greenock.
The forecaster also warned that delays to transport are likely, with gusts of up to 60mph expected in most areas.
Those affected should check road conditions for driving and the latest travel information as well as preparing for in advance for potential power cuts.
A pensioner who is refusing to leave what’s being branded Britain’s loneliest housing estate has told Sky News he is facing bullying and intimidation tactics to force him out.
Nick Wisniewski’s ex-council flat in Wishaw, North Lanarkshire is set to be demolished because the local authority wants to redevelop the area, which has become a derelict eyesore.
The vast area on the outskirts of Glasgow used to have almost 1,000 properties, but slowly the bulldozers have moved in, creating huge mounds of rubble where homes once stood.
The land is overgrown, with all remaining properties boarded up – apart from the retired bank worker’s home, which demolition teams have been unable to touch as he refuses to budge.
Nick Wisniewski claims he is being bullied to leave his home
Rubble where homes on the estate once stood
‘They’ll basically need to drag me out’
The 68-year-old, whose neighbours were all rehomed in 2023, bought the flat in 2017 under the discounted right-to-buy scheme and is now mortgage-free.
He told Sky News he rejected an initial offer from North Lanarkshire Council of £35,000 plus two year’s rent as it would not be enough to buy a new place.
Contemplating a time in the future when he is forced out, he said: “By law they can smash my door down, they can come in here, manhandle me to get me out. That’s the law, and they’ll basically need to drag me out.”
Asked if he is prepared to go to that length to stop himself being removed, he said: “I am hoping it doesn’t come to that, but if it does then so be it.”
He reveals a compulsory purchase order process is now under way.
A compulsory purchase order is the legal power given to a local council to buy a property without the owner’s consent.
The legal battle will now be resolved by the Scottish government in due course.
There used to be almost a thousand properties on the estate
He said: “It’s been all intimidation, bullying, lies. They offered me £40,000 over a year ago. I thought they’d have offered me a wee bit more. I would accept, probably, £60,000.
“They had a meeting a couple of weeks ago saying that they are starting legal, which means compulsory purchase order.
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“There’s so many stages to that and it’ll take a while for that to come in to force.”
North Lanarkshire Council told Sky News it “completely refutes” any allegations of bullying or intimidation.
A spokesman said: “We are continuing to try and engage with the remaining resident and our focus is on progressing our ambitious plans to transform this area of Gowkthrapple for the benefit of the local community.”
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