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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Sami Quadri

Strip murderer Wayne Couzens of police pension, says Sadiq Khan

Sadiq Khan has called for Wayne Couzens to be stripped of his police pension after it emerged that he is in line to receive several thousand pounds a year of public money despite being behind bars.

Couzens, 50, was given a life sentence after he abducted, raped and murdered Sarah Everard, 33, in south London in March 2021.

He does not qualify for a pension with Scotland Yard because he did not work for the force for long enough.

Instead his pension pot remains with the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC), for which he worked for more than 7 years before joining the Met in 2018.

His service at the constabulary makes him eligible to receive a pension of about £4,000 a year when he turns 60, in addition to a lump sum of up to £12,000.

Mr Khan, the mayor of London, has written to Energy Secretary Grant Shapps to urge him to “take all possible steps to ensure that Couzens is stripped of his pension”.

The letter, seen by the BBC, says: “I seek your assurance that you will take all possible steps to ensure that Couzens is stripped of his pension. This is what the public would rightly expect.”

Mr Khan adds that the CNC portion of the pension “sits outside the normal police pension regulations”.

A spokesperson for Mr Khan said: "It would be totally unacceptable if Couzens remains entitled to a single penny of his pension - it would be very difficult for his victims and the wider public to comprehend."

Police officers forfeit their pension if they are convicted of a criminal offence linked to their work and if their actions are deemed to “lead to a serious loss of confidence in the public service”.

The move often requires the home secretary to issue a so-called “certificate of forfeiture” in order to revoke the pension.

Mr Shapps agrees that Couzens should not be entitled to the money and says he supports a recommendation from the CNC that he is stripped of the benefit.

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