Met officer Wayne Couzens lied to detectives and claimed he was blackmailed into abducting Sarah Everard

Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens lied to detectives and claimed to have been blackmailed into abducting his victim Sarah Everard, it has been revealed.

Couzens, 48, pleaded guilty today to murdering the 33-year-old marketing executive who vanished while walking to her home in Brixton from a friend’s house in March.

The firearms-trained parliamentary and diplomatic protection officer, who had just finished a 12-hour shift that morning, raped and strangled Ms Everard on March 3, 2021.

He concocted an elaborate story during a police interview following his arrest in March where he claimed to have run into financial difficulties.

He said he had been threatened by a gang of Eastern Europeans who demanded he deliver “another girl” after underpaying a prostitute a few weeks before.

Couzens told officers that he kidnapped Ms Everard, drove out of London and handed her over to three Eastern European men in a van in a layby in Kent, still alive and uninjured.

The defendant went on to make no comment in formal interview and was charged on March 12.

Speaking after the conviction, the Crown Prosecution Service’s Carolyn Oakley said: “Wayne Couzens lied to the police when he was arrested and to date, he has refused to comment.

“We still do not know what drove him to commit this appalling crime against a stranger.

“Today is not the day for hearing the facts about what happened to Sarah. Today is a day to remember Sarah and our thoughts remain with her family and friends.”

Couzens’ defence barrister told the court: “His pleas today represents a truly guilty plea and remorse for what he did and, as he put it to us this morning, he will bear the burden for the rest of his life – his words: ‘as I deserve’.”

Couzens previously pleaded guilty last month to kidnap and rape and accepted responsibility for Ms Everard’s death.

Prosecutor Tom Little QC said Couzens and Ms Everard “were total strangers to each other”.

Ms Everard’s boyfriend reported her missing on March 4 and her body was found a week later in woodland near Ashford, Kent.

It is reported that Couzens had hired a car and bought a roll of self-adhesive film days before the murder.

Two days after Ms Everard was last seen, Couzens was caught on CCTV buying two green rubble bags at B&Q in Dover.

Ms Everard’s body was found just outside of a patch of land owned by Couzens in Ashford, Kent.

Her remains were found dumped inside a stream in large green builders’ bag and were identified by her dental records.

Judge Lord Justice Fulford will sentence Couzens at the Old Bailey on September 29.

He said: “This has been a mammoth investigation which has produced some very significant results in terms of being able to understand what happened.”

Couzens transferred into the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC), in September 2018.

His first posting was to South Area, serving initially in a Safer Neighbourhood Team, before joining a response team covering the Bromley area in February 2019.

He then moved to the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command in February 2020 where his primary role was to patrol diplomatic premises, mainly embassies.

Following his arrest, a review confirmed he passed vetting processes. The checks confirmed there was no information available to the MPS at the time that would have changed the vetting decision.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said: “My thoughts and those of everyone in the Met Police are with Sarah’s loved ones.

“It is not possible for any of us to begin to imagine what they have been going through. I am so sorry.

“I was able to speak to them earlier today and said to them how very sorry I am for their loss and their pain and their suffering.

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

THE INVESTIGATION BY POLICE WATCHDOG

How the Met handled the murder of Sarah Everard is being investigated by the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

There has been a total of 12 gross misconduct or misconduct notices on police officers from several forces as the IOPC continue to investigate matters linked to the conduct of PC Couzens.

One investigation examined the circumstances surrounding how PC Couzens sustained head injuries in custody on March 10 and 12 after he had been arrested on suspicion of the murder of Sarah Everard.

This investigation is nearing its conclusion and all officers involved have been treated as witnesses.

Other ongoing investigations are:

• An investigation into alleged Met failures to investigate two allegations of indecent exposure linked to PC Couzens in London in February 2021. Two officers are being investigated for possible breaches of professional standards at misconduct level.

• An investigation into alleged Kent Police failures to investigate an indecent exposure incident linked to PC Couzens in Kent in 2015. No notices have been served.

• An investigation into allegations that a probationary Met police constable shared an inappropriate graphic with colleagues via social media. The officer subsequently manned a cordon at the scene of the search for Ms Everard. Three officers have been served with gross misconduct notices.

• An investigation into allegations that officers from a number of forces breached standards of professional behaviour while sharing information linked to the prosecution of PC Couzens via a messaging app. One officer has been served with a gross misconduct notice and another six have received misconduct notices.

The serving of misconduct notices does not necessarily mean that disciplinary proceedings will follow.

IOPC Regional Director Sal Naseem said: “Our sympathies remain with the family of Sarah Everard and everyone affected by her death in such shocking circumstances.

“We share the horror that many will feel, knowing that Sarah’s killer was a police officer who had taken an oath to uphold the law and protect life and property.

“The offences Wayne Couzens has admitted add up to the worst betrayal of the public’s trust.

“We are still investigating a number of matters linked to PC Couzens and Sarah’s death, and we are working hard to bring those to as swift a conclusion as possible.”

A total of nine other conduct referrals in relation to PC Couzens were made to the IOPC by the Met which, following assessment, were sent back for local investigation by the force.

Two of these were in relation to the kidnap, murder and rape of Sarah Everard and another concerned allegations of indecent exposure.