Commons Speaker demands Met Police meeting to discuss Wayne Couzens’ parliament work
The Speaker of the House of Commons has requested an urgent meeting with the Met Police after it was revealed Wayne Couzens was deployed to parliament on several occasions.
The Met police officer – who was handed a life sentence for the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard – was on duty five times at parliament last year.
The Met Police confirmed the murderer was deployed to armed static protection duties on the parliamentary estate five times between February and July 2020.
Scotland Yard had previously said Couzens had been patrolling embassies and other diplomatic premises.
The killer had been issued with an “access all areas” pass, a senior parliamentary source told The Sunday Times.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle told the newspaper he would be meeting with police urgently to discuss how Couzens was vetted for parliamentary duty.
It has also been revealed the killer shared discriminatory messages in a WhatsApp group with five police officers who are now being investigated for gross misconduct.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct watchdog also said Couzens was linked to one incident of indecent exposure in 2015 and another just days before he killed Everard.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said: “Like everyone, I have been sickened by the depravity of Wayne Couzens – and heartbroken for the family of Sarah Everard.”
He said he had asked the Met to meet to “discuss how this person could have been deemed suitable for deployment here.”
The Speaker added: “Further, I will be seeking reassurance that at no time was anyone on the parliamentary estate put at risk.
“The security of members and staff has always been my number one priority, so I want to know how this man could ever have crossed the parliamentary threshold.”
Sarah Everard vanished when she walked home from a friend’s house in March this year after the serving police officer arrested the 33-year-old by abusing lockdown powers.
The murder sparked protests across the country about violence against women and systematic issues within the police force.