PC Wayne Couzens Has Been Sacked From The Met Police After Admitting Sarah Everard Murder

PC Wayne Couzens has been sacked from the Metropolitan Police after being convicted of the murder, rape and kidnap of Sarah Everard, the force said.

The Metropolitan Police said PC Wayne Couzens had been dismissed with immediate effect following a hearing chaired by Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball.

It found that Couzens’ conduct “breached the standards of professional behaviour in respect of discreditable conduct”.

He was dismissed without notice.

Ms Ball said: “Couzens has betrayed everything we, the police, stand for and following his guilty pleas and convictions I have dismissed him today.

“All of us in the Met are horrified, sickened and angered by this man’s crimes. Sarah was a young woman who had her life cruelly snatched away from her. I know she is sorely missed by so many people and our thoughts remain with her loved ones. We are so profoundly sorry.”

Wayne had previously pleaded guilty to Sarah Everard's rape and kidnapping. Last week he admitted he was guilty of murdering the 33-year-old market executive.

The 48-year-old kidnapped Sarah in a hire car as she walked home alone from a friend's house in Clapham, south London, on the evening of 3rd March.

He then went on to rape and strangle her before depositing her body in Kent woodlands.

Police launched an urgent inquiry after Sarah was reported missing by her boyfriend Josh Lowth.

Couzens, a firearms-trained parliamentary and diplomatic protection officer, wiped his phone just minutes before he was arrested at his home in Deal, Kent, on 9th March.

The following day - a week after she disappeared - Sarah's body was found in a woodland stream.

Sarah's disappearance and murder sparked a nationwide discussion at sexism and misogyny in society, with many women protesting for stricter penalties against men guilty of predatory behaviour.

The Metropolitan Police was hit by widespread criticism for the way it policed a peaceful vigil in Clapham Common, with women who simply just wanted to pay their respects being arrested and roughly handled by officers.