Sarah Everard Murder: Wayne Couzens To Receive 'Full Met Police Officer Salary' While On Trial

The Metropolitan Police officer accused of kidnapping and murdering Sarah Everard will continue to receive full pay while on trial, according to new reports.

Wayne Couzens, 48, was charged with killing Sarah, 33, earlier this month after she vanished when walking home from a friend's house in Clapham, London.

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But despite being suspended from duty after he was charged by the police on March 12^th, The Sun reports that Wayne will continue to receive his £33,000 annual salary for his role as diplomatic protection officer.

He would continue to receive the salary throughout all criminal proceedings should he plead not guilty at the upcoming trial.

This is in line with normal trial protocol, established in line with the presumption the officer, like any defendant, is innocent until proven guilty.

A spokesperson from the Met Police told Tyla: "Following his charge on Friday, 12 March for kidnap and murder, Wayne Couzens was served with a gross misconduct notice and suspended from duty.

"He has he been suspended on full pay. The process is governed by police regulations which are set by the Home Office."

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A plea hearing for Wayne has been scheduled to take place on 9th July, with any upcoming trial thought to take place from 25th October.

Should a trial take place, a verdict may not be reached until November at the earliest.

The news comes after it was reported that Sarah's body is to be released to her family ahead of her funeral, following a second post-mortem.

Sarah's death has prompted an outpouring of anger and grief from women, sparking protests in London demanding women's safety to be taken more seriously, with tougher laws on crimes direct at women.

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson has since agreed that Sarah's tragic death should be a "watershed moment", vowing to work with leader of the opposition, Keir Starmer, to do more to protect women from violence.

It comes as a cross-party group of MPs want to make harassment from a vehicle an offence, while misogyny is set to become a hate crime in the UK.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

Topics: UK News, Sarah Everard, News

Kimberley Bond

Kim is a journalist at Tyla, and has previously worked at the Evening Standard, Radio Times as well as several national newspapers. A showbiz obsessive and a television fanatic, Kim is particularly interested in celebrity gossip, A-list events and the latest releases on either the big or small screen. Contact her at [email protected]

@0xKimberley