Priti Patel announces independent inquiry into Sarah Everard murder

349

View
comments

Priti Patel today announced there will be an independent inquiry into the ‘systematic failures’ that allowed Wayne Couzens to serve as a Met police officer and murder Sarah Everard. 

The Home Secretary said that ‘recent tragic events have exposed unimaginable failures in policing’. 

She said that the public ‘have a right to know’ why Couzens was able to be employed by the Metropolitan Police.

Addressing the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Ms Patel said: ‘I can confirm today, there will be an inquiry, to give the independent oversight needed, to ensure something like this can never happen again.’

The inquiry will look at Couzens’ career in the Metropolitan Police and determine if red flags were missed to identify him as a threat. 

The probe is likely to be viewed as a warning shot at Met chief Cressida Dick who has faced calls to quit following the murder of Ms Everard.

Ms Patel also used her speech in Manchester to announce tough new laws to stop protesters disrupting critical national infrastructure and plans to expand drug testing on arrest.  

Ms Patel’s announcement of an independent inquiry came as: 

The Home Secretary told Tory members that ‘without safety and security, there can be no freedom’ and the Conservatives’ approach to crime will ‘always be based on seeking justice for victims and survivors, ensuring perpetrators feel the full force of the law’. Ms Patel said the Government is ‘nearly halfway’ to hitting its target of recruiting an extra 20,000 police officers. The Cabinet minister said the Government is successfully ‘cutting the head off the snake’ of drug gangs by ‘taking down the kingpins behind these deadly supply lines’. She fired a warning to France to do more to stop ‘unsafe, unfair and unacceptable’ migrant crossings across the English Channel.

Metropolitan Police firearms officer Couzens 48, was handed a whole life sentence at the Old Bailey last week for murdering Ms Everard. 

Ms Everard, 33, was walking home from a friend’s house in Clapham, south London, on the evening of March 3 when she was kidnapped, raped and murdered by Couzens.

Ms Patel said: ‘This Government will always back the brave men and women of our police.

‘And it is because of our strong relationship with the police, that I can ask the difficult questions and support them to do better.

‘Recent tragic events have exposed unimaginable failures in policing. It is abhorrent that a serving police officer was able to abuse his position of power, authority and trust to commit such a horrific crime.

‘The public have a right to know what systematic failures enabled his continued employment as a police officer. We need answers as to why this was allowed to happen.

‘I can confirm today, there will be an inquiry, to give the independent oversight needed, to ensure something like this can never happen again.’

Ms Patel said that ‘all our thoughts remain with Sarah Everard’s family and friends’ as she refused to say Couzens’ name, describing him as a ‘monster’.

The inquiry will be split into two parts, with the first examining Couzens’ previous behaviour. 

It will seek to establish a ‘definitive account’ of his conduct leading up to his conviction, as well ‘any opportunities missed’.

The second part of the probe will look at ‘specific issues raised by the first part of the inquiry’. 

That could include examining wider issues across policing, including vetting practices, discipline and workplace behaviour.

Ms Patel will also write to the independent police inspectorate HMICFRS to commission a ‘thematic inspection of vetting and counter-corruption procedures in policing across England and Wales’. 

This will look at how forces detect and deal with misogynistic and predatory behaviour.  

The Home Office said the inquiry will be established on a non-statutory footing but ‘can be converted to a statutory inquiry if required’.

A chairman for the inquiry and its terms of reference will be announced by the Government in due course.

Labour’s shadow home secretary, Nick Thomas-Symonds, said: ‘Labour has been calling for a full independent inquiry for days, yet the Prime Minister refused to support one. 

‘Now the Home Secretary has half-heartedly announced one, but not put it on a robust, statutory footing to ensure there are no barriers in the way to getting answers.’   

Ms Patel also used her conference speech in Manchester to vow tough new action to combat disruptive protests following a wave of action by the Insulate Britain campaign group. 

She told Tory members: ‘It is because of our commitment to putting the needs of the hardworking, often silent, majority first, that I will not tolerate so called ecowarriors, trampling over our way of life and draining police resources.

‘Their actions over recent weeks have amounted to some of the most self-defeating ‘environmental’ protests this country has ever seen.

‘Freedom to protest is a fundamental right our Party will forever fight to uphold. But it must be within the law.

‘Measures already going through Parliament will ensure these criminals can be brought to justice for the disruption they are causing.

‘But we are going further to close down the legal loopholes exploited by these offenders. 

‘So today I can announce I will also increase the maximum penalties for disrupting a motorway, criminalise interference with key infrastructure such as roads, railways and our free press and give the police and courts new powers to deal with the small minority of offenders intent on travelling around the country, causing disruption and misery across our communities.’

New measures brought forward by Ms Patel will make it an offence to repeatedly obstruct roads or cause other delays. 

The Criminal Disruption Prevention Orders – dubbed ‘Asbos for crusties’ – are intended to be quicker to enforce than the Government’s current approach, which has been based on High Court injunctions.

In a separate move, a new offence will be created to make it a crime to ‘interfere with critical national infrastructure’, including major roads, railways, seaports, power stations and newspaper printing presses.

The new crime will carry up to six months’ imprisonment and will be dealt with at magistrates’ courts only. 

It will give police new options when arresting offenders who block motorways or other sites, and make it more likely that protesters will face jail.

The Government has been under pressure to launch a fresh crackdown on protesters after Insulate Britain, an offshoot of the Extinction Rebellion group, blocked major roads including the M25, M1 and M4 over the past three weeks. 

Three court injunctions have been put in place to stop the protests but demonstrations have continued. 

The group, which is calling on the Government to insulate all homes across the UK by 2030 to help cut carbon emissions, has mostly focused on blockading the M25 but has sat down on other London roads since last Friday.

Boris Johnson labelled the group ‘irresponsible crusties’ this morning as he vowed to end their disruptive demonstrations. 

The Home Secretary also announced an expansion of drug testing on arrest across all 43 police forces in England and Wales.  

She said: ‘Those who test positive as confirmed drug users will be supported to tackle their drug abuse and regain their independence. 

‘But for those unwilling to address their drug misuse, there will be the harshest possible legal sanctions and consequences.’ 

The £15million expansion of drug testing over the next four years will see police forces told to test more suspected criminals for recreational drugs.  

The policy will focus on arrests for crimes including narcotics offences, fraud and theft while five pilots will give police extra powers to test suspects arrested for crimes beyond the usual so-called ‘trigger’ offences of shoplifting, burglary and robbery.  

Officers will test suspects in custody for the presence of heroin or cocaine.

A total of £375,000 will be offered to police forces immediately to expand their use of drug testing on arrest. The Government will offer £5,000 to all 43 forces in England and Wales to invest in extra testing equipment and training for police officers and staff this year.

And in addition to this, five forces – City of London, South Yorkshire, West Midlands, Hertfordshire and Gwent – will receive an additional £32,000 boost this year to increase testing for a wider range of offences, which could include domestic abuse and public order offences.

Those who test positive for opiates or cocaine will be referred for treatment or measures like drug awareness courses to try to ‘tackle the problem at its root and reduce the prevalence of drug misuse across society’. 

Those who refuse will reportedly face prosecution with a maximum penalty of up to six months in jail or a £2,500 fine, according to the Daily Telegraph.     

Ms Patel also delivered a tough message to France to do more to stop migrant crossings across the English Channel.    

She said that ‘all states have a responsibility to control their borders’ because ‘where there is a door, there must be a door keeper’.

‘What is happening in the Channel with small boats is unsafe, unfair, and unacceptable,’ she told the conference. 

‘From the vast camps outside Calais of mainly male, economic migrants, to the shocking images of people crammed onto flimsy boats crossing the Channel, exploited by people smugglers.

‘Vile criminals characterised by ruthlessness and greed, who even threaten to drown small children to line their pockets.

‘This cannot continue. Which is why we are going after the criminals behind this perilous trade in people smuggling.’

She said that ‘France is a safe country, one not riven by war or conflict’, adding: ‘There is no reason why any asylum seeker should come to the United Kingdom directly from France.

‘We make no apology for securing our borders and exploring all possible options to save lives by ending these horrific journeys.’