The mother of Sarah Everard, who was raped and murdered by a serving Met Police officer five years ago, has paid tribute to her daughter in a piece remembering her travel, dancing and sense of humour.
Susan Everard said Miss Everard “added to the beauty of the world” in the article for British Vogue, a publication the 33-year-old was photographed by at V Festival in 2010 as part of a street fashion series.
Mrs Everard wrote: “It was 2010 when the photograph was taken and, although it is bittersweet, I love to see her, happy and beautiful, with her whole life ahead of her. It was a golden time when she had recently graduated and was back home from travels to south-east Asia and already making plans for future adventures.”
She said the marketing executive had loved to travel, spending time in South America, South Africa and Nepal.
“She was interested in the world around her and made the most of life. There was a depth to her, she led her life with decency and integrity,” Mrs Everard wrote. “She cared about others and worried about us in the pandemic. She had a large network of friends who were dear to her; we meet up with them now to celebrate her.
“I miss the goodness of Sarah: she was thoughtful and dependable and highly principled.”
Miss Everard went missing on 3 March 2021 after leaving a friend’s house in Clapham at about 9pm, before her body was tragically discovered a week later. Following the arrest of Wayne Couzens, it emerged in court that he had kidnapped her under the guise of an arrest for breaking Covid lockdown rules, before raping and murdering her.
After the horrific crime, it emerged that Couzens had passed several rounds of vetting despite three alleged incidents of indecent exposure that were not fully investigated.
The case put police vetting processes in the spotlight and the handling of officers accused of sexual misconduct.
In December, an inquiry launched after Everard’s death urged forces to drastically tighten police vetting after finding recommendations on recruitment had not been followed up by police forces.
The commissioner of the Met Police said “no organisation of 40,000 people can be perfect” – but insisted work has taken place to remove problematic employees from the force since Miss Everard’s death.
Sir Mark Rowley said some 1,500 people had been “rooted out” of the force since 2022, including many because of inappropriate behaviour toward women.
Speaking to the BBC, Sir Mark said: “They [women] can absolutely trust [us]. We are an organisation that is doing everything we can possibly do to double down on our integrity and be as strong as we possibly can, from the front door of the organisation where the vetting is much tougher than it was, all the way through every step we take with allegations inside.
“Of course, no organisation of 40-odd thousand people can be perfect but you can be as determined to sustain the integrity of the organisation as possible and that’s certainly what we’re doing now.”
Last year, The Independent revealed that at least 59 police officers across England and Wales had been convicted of sexual offences since 2022. That included 22 officers – all male – from the Met Police, none of whom are still serving.
In January, a review showed some 5,073 officers and staff at the Met were not properly vetted between 2013 and 2023. The Met estimated that around 1,200 recruits may have had their vetting refused under normal practices.
However, in a statement to The Independent, the Met said forced exits had trebled to around 550 in 2024, from 150 in 2020. Refusal rates through vetting had also more than doubled to 11 per cent, it said.
But women’s charities have said more needs to be done. Farah Nazeer, chief executive of Women's Aid, told the BBC that there needed to be a change of attitude towards women among police officers.
Sir Mark said: “We haven’t got to the point where every woman is going to say ‘I completely, without question, trust the Metropolitan Police. Of course. This is a horrific incident [Everard’s murder].
“A serving police officer abducted, raped and murdered somebody. Of course that’s going to live long in the memory and all I’m seeking to do is just say, I can see that we are making progress and people are noticing that.”
Have you been impacted by this story, or wish to comment on the Met Police’s handling of misconduct? Contact alexander.ross@independent.co.uk
