LONDON: A public inquiry into a British police officer whose rape and murder of a woman horrified the nation concluded on Thursday that without a sweeping overhaul of failed vetting procedures, there was nothing to stop another similar case arising.

Wayne Couzens, 51, whose job was to guard diplomatic premises in London, is serving a full life sentence in jail after being convicted of the 2021 rape and murder of Sarah Everard, whom he abducted from a London street using his police credentials to force her into his car.

He subsequently pleaded guilty to three unrelated charges of exposing himself. In total the inquiry found eight such offences had been reported, but not acted upon, prior to the killing of Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive.

Elish Angiolini, who headed the inquiry, said serial failings in the vetting and investigations of Couzens meant that red flags were repeatedly missed, but he “could and should” have been stopped.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2024