The Metropolitan Police in 2018. Thats despite an accusation he sexually assaulted a child barely in her teens while in his early 20s. Couzens, who was off duty, murdered Sarah Everard after kidnapping her under the false guise of an arrest. He was sacked by the met after his arrest and is now serving a whole life sentence. The inquiry s first stage has been considering what the met knew about couzens reported behaviour prior to sarahs murder. Heres what inquiry chair, Lady Elish Angiolini had to say. The fragility of public trust and confidence in policing affects us all, including those good Police Officers doing the right thing every day. It is time for all of those with responsibility for policing to do everything they can to improve standards of recruitment, vetting and investigation. Wayne couzens was never fit to be a Police Officer. Police leaders need to be sure there isnt another Wayne Couzens operating in plain sight. And lets just remind ourselves of what happened to Sarah