Cliff Mitchell is a serial rapist. He was caught and charged with multiple offences only after attacking a woman at knifepoint last year, blindfolding and tying her up, and forcing her into his car. Thankfully, his terrified victim managed to escape and get help from a passerby, who called the police. What makes this case so frightening, however, is that at the time Cliff Mitchell was the police. He was a serving officer with the Met who had somehow managed to pass the vetting process despite, in 2019, being accused of (though never charged with) another rape.
What is most staggering of all, however, is that Mitchell started his police training in August 2021, five months after Sarah Everard was murdered by a serving Met officer named Wayne Couzens. Even as senior officers were vowing to ensure such a thing never happened again, Mitchell was getting his warrant card. Remember that, when you hear the same promises being made all over again, this week in response to Dame Elish Angiolini’s devastating preliminary findings on all the missed chances to save Sarah’s life. Remember that, when you are told that her murder was a one-off.
