A new documentary on the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard is to be broadcast by the BBC in a programme that aims to increase pressure for improvements to the safety of women.
The corporation said the 60 minute film, which will be shown on BBC One and the BBC iPlayer, would include contributions from “those closely involved in the case from the outset” and examine both the Met’s investigation into the crime in March 2021 and the fallout.
It said the programme had also been made in “close contact” with Sarah’s parents and that they hoped it would “bring increased focus to issues of women’s safety” and the “abuse of power by police and others in positions of authority.”
Emma Loach, the BBC’s lead commissioning editor for documentaries, added: “The murder of Sarah Everard sent shock waves across the country and ignited an urgent conversation about police failings and violence against women and girls. This is an important and timely film and we, like Sarah’s family, hope it will contribute to the ongoing dialogue around the issues raised.”
Ms Everard disappeared in Clapham as she walked home from seeing friends and was later found to have been kidnapped, raped and murdered by Wayne Couzens who had used his police position to abduct her under the guise of carrying out at arrest.
The crime led to public protests and the discovery of widespread problems of misogyny and further serious criminal activity within the Met’s ranks, prompting a purge by the subsequently appointed Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley that is still continuing.
Dozens of officers have already been sacked with some convicted, including the serial rapist David Carrick, who was jailed for life after admitting 85 offences over 17 years of using his police position to help him abuse women.
In a statement announcing the new documentary, the BBC said the murder of Ms Everard, 33, had been a “watershed moment for the nation” that “brought to the fore devastating issues within our police forces and highlighted the extent of violence against women and girls in our society.”
It added: “Since Sarah’s murder, the narrative of ‘one bad apple’ has been destroyed. The force was placed in special measures and a major review of the Met Police found a culture of denial, widespread bullying, discrimination, institutional homophobia, misogyny and racism.
“The repercussions continue to be far reaching, with police forces up and down the country forced to confront the culture and behaviour in their own ranks.”
Couzens,who was 48 at the time, was jailed for life at the Old Bailey in September 2021 and given a whole life term.
The judge, Mr Justice Fulford, said his crime was “warped, selfish and brutal” and the the circumstances of his kidnap, rape and murder of Ms Everard were “grotesque” and that his misuse of his police position was an attack on one of the “fundamental underpinnings of our democratic way of life."
