Ministers committed to ending rough sleeping by the end of this year. An inquiry into how a serving metropolitan Police Officer was able to abduct and kill Sarah Everard has concluded he remained on the force because of failures in recruitment and vetting. The inquiry said red flags were missed at the three Different Police forces where Wayne Couzens served over several years. He was off duty when he kidnapped the 33 year old in march 2021. He is now serving a whole Life Sentence for rape and murder. Her killing by a serving Police Officer prompted a widespread outpouring of anger and grief and sparked demonstrations over concern for the safety of women. The chair of the inquiry said that without a radical overhaul of Police Vetting and recruitment there is nothing to stop another Wayne Couzens operating in plain sight. We are expecting the full Police Response shortly but we have heard an Opening Statement from Chief Constable Gavin Stevens who said the harrowing murder of Sarah Everard carried out by a serving Police Officer has caused untold suffering. Wayne couzens should never have been a Police Officer and this should never have happened. We are reviewing the recommendations and i do not underestimate how important this is for all of society and he said he cant express to the family of Sarah Everard how sorry they are and he went on to say i want to apologise to any woman or girl who has fallen to abuse from a Police Officer. This is a glowing red signal to all Police Officers. The report makes clear we have a lot to do and we collectively will not stop until the public especially women and girls get the policing they deserve and confidence in our role as protectors is rebuilt. Now an update on what was in the report with june kelly. He was a predatory sex offender in a police uniform, a criminal with state sanctioned powers. Wayne couzens should never have been allowed to become a Police Officer and Continualflawed Vetting meant he was able to stay in his role, despite a series of red flags. These are among the stark conclusions of todays inquiry report into couzens. It examined his career, his behaviour and the way he was vetted. The metropolitan Police Service told the inquiry in 2022 that they would still have recruited him if provided with the same information. Ifind this astonishing. Now is a time for change. Without a significant overhaul, there is nothing to stop another Wayne Couzens operating in plain sight. The report describes how in 2004 and 2008, kent police turned down couzens application to join, but allowed him to work as a special constable. In 2011, another force, the Civil Nuclear constabulary, took him on as a full time officer, despite a recommendation that he should not get through the vetting because of his heavy debts. In 2018, he successfully applied to join the metropolitan police. Here, the report found the vetting was flawed. An Indecent Exposure allegation was one of the concerns about him which was on the system, but appeared to be missed. There are no words i can use that can adequately express to the Everard Familyjust how sorry we are across the whole of policing. I was left aghast at the catalogue of missed opportunities, errors, red flags, to stop Wayne Couzens. The report describes how Wayne Couzens used his Police Powers to falsely arrest Sarah Everard on a Street In Clapham in south london during the covid lockdown in 2021. Here, Showing Sarah his warrant card and accusing her of breaching lockdown rules. Couzens then drove sarah 80 miles to kent, where he raped and strangled her. A week after sarahs disappearance, Wayne Couzens was arrested. Described as a man of diverse and deviant sexual interests, he allegedly committed a very serious Sexual Assault against a child, barely in her teens, before he joined the police. At a mcdonalds Drive Through in the days before he abducted sarah, he indecently exposed himself to staff more than once. He is also alleged to have possessed indecent images of children. The coming days will see the third anniversary of Sarah Everards death. In the report, herfamily welcome its recommendations. They say the loss of sarah pervades every part of their lives. June kelly, bbc news. We can now hear more from the Inquiry Chair. We can now hear more from the Inquiry Chair we can now hear more from the Inquiry Chair. The murder shocked the nation and Inquiry Chair. The murder shocked the nation and triggered Inquiry Chair. The murder shocked the nation and triggered a Inquiry Chair. The murder shocked l the nation and triggered a discourse about Public Safety in Public Places and also looked at Police Misconduct where Police Officers used their powers to commit Sexual Offences. What is already clear is how much damage Wayne Couzens has done to the social contract in which policing is based and significant improvements are required. Failures in investigations into allegations of Indecent Exposure meant opportunities to disrupt his offending and bring his Policing Career to a halt were missed. It is clear that Wayne Couzens carefully managed the impression he gave people of himself and this is in included. It also included the way he shared his callous views towards women. Only a very small group of like minded people on a social media group. This all enabled him to target Vulnerable Women while operating in plain sight as an apparently unremarkable officer. However, the fact remains that three separate Police Forces allowed him the privilege of being a Police Officer when they could and should have stopped him. Wayne couzens is a predatory sex offender and murderer. Evidence of his alleged offending, his preference for extreme and violent pornography and his unmanaged debts date back nearly 20 years prior to sarahs murder. The report explores this in detail, but i will draw your attention to some of the major red flags and missed opportunities to halt his career and bring him tojustice. The inquiry has seen evidence that couzens allegedly committed a very serious Sexual Assault against a child barely in her teens before his Policing Career even started. Problems with money also predated his career with the police. Couzens had substantial Unsecured Debt by the time he was arrested for sarahs murder. At the same time, the metropolitan Police Service were taking action to recover up to £15,000 that had been paid to him in error. And a year long mortgage holiday was about to expire that month. These pressures undoubtedly affected his ability to serve as an Authorised Firearms Officer at that time. Ive seen evidence of couzens diverse and deviant sexual interests and understand these to be potential drivers for his offending. It is alleged that in a number of occasions he tried to show friends and colleagues pornography, including some of a violent and extreme nature. Xjames x Ja Mes Cleverly X James Cleverly the xJames Cleverly the home secretary says the report is distressing but very important. Says the report is distressing but very important says the report is distressing but very important. Tragically he was allowed to serve very important. Tragically he was allowed to serve as very important. Tragically he was allowed to serve as a very important. Tragically he was allowed to serve as a release very important. Tragically he was allowed to serve as a release of. Very important. Tragically he was i allowed to serve as a release of us and were still there were multiple occasions where the shed, could have been recognised, where this should, could have been recognised. He was able to serve in a range of privileged roles including as a Firearms Officer. It is appalling that reports of Indecent Exposure by couzens were not taken sufficiently seriously by the police and that officers were not adequately trained, equipped or motivated to properly investigate those allegations. A former inspector of constabulary shared her reaction. A former inspector of constabulary shared her reaction. Mark rowley has made it a pledge shared her reaction. Mark rowley has made it a pledge on shared her reaction. Mark rowley has made it a pledge on his shared her reaction. Mark rowley has made it a pledge on his appointment| made it a pledge on his appointment that he will root out auditory Police Officers and we see that manifesting itself in three Police Officers per week being in courts because of the infrastructure that has been put in place to make sure that Police Officers who have a history of sexual offending and who have other proclivities which means there is no place for them in policing are being identified and brought to justice policing are being identified and brought tojustice and policing are being identified and brought to justice and are going to the Police Disciplinary process, and being removed from policing and taken away from the front line. That has to happen, doesnt it, because without that happening, women in london in particular are not going to trust the police. That has catastrophic consequences, it will mean that the public dont come forward to the police, when they are either victims or witnesses. There is a danger that the whole fabric of Law And Order could break down. Until we put people through measures in policing, that you would expect in most normal walks of life, until we are checking on peoples background, looking at their social media, doing face to face interviews in order to appointjobs, when we undertake vetting, making sure that we visit Police Officers homes. For goodness sake, if you were adopting a stray puppy, people come and visit your home. The idea that someone wouldnt come and check you out if you are about to become a Police Officer, with all of the powers, that that entails, it is unthinkable. As i say, Police Leaders in england and wales have absolutely no option but to respond rapidly and at pace to these fairly straight recommendations that will cost additional money, but are absolutely necessary if we are to restore public trust in policing right now. Fresh insight on the worsening Housing Crisis in england. The number of Housing Crisis in england. The number of families living in temporary accommodation has hit a record high including more than hundred and 40,000 children. The number of rough sleepers is also up with more than 4000 people on the streets on a single night last autumn, up 27 on the previous year. The increase comes despite the government vowing to end rough sleeping by the end of this year. For some people at Londons Paddington station, their train never departs. As many as 60 sleep in the station each night. Here is, like, the warmest part of the station, really, that you can sleep in. Thats why youve got most of the people sleeping here, because its the warmest part. Joseph has been rough sleeping since last year, the last few nights at paddington. His entire possessions in one bag. If you can get a clear space, then you are good, but apart from that theyve got these railings, stuck in between, so its not ideally comfortable. The people here are part of a surge in rough sleeping across england, up 27 on last year. Most are uk nationals, like 66 year old rita, who says she was scammed in france and returned home penniless. We try to find a seat before someone else takes it. And then, you know, weve been lucky, we have now some sleeping bag. Before we didnt have. Up until october we didnt have any sleeping bag. I sleep around half past midnight and i wake up about half past three or four. So three or four hours a night, for six months . Yeah, yeah. Its very hard. Ministers say they are spending over half a billion tackling rough sleeping, but some councils say the problem has worsened since the official data was collected last autumn. This is manchester town hall, where up to 80 people a night have been sleeping in recent weeks. They are mainly refugees a consequence of government efforts to tackle the immigration backlog. The people here are mainly from sudan, eritrea and ethiopia. All of them tell a familiar tale, of being allowed to remain in the United Kingdom but told to leave their home office provided accommodation, and unable to find anywhere else to stay theyve ended up on the streets of manchester. This iranian woman, who wants to remain anonymous, has been rough sleeping for 15 days. What do the council say to you about getting a property . They told me that im not their priority because i have no children and im not in the hospital. Many of manchesters rough sleepers come to the booth centre for food, warmth and advice. What they cant provide is accommodation. Theres simply not enough Affordable Homes in the city, or indeed the country. Michael buchanan, bbc news. The issue of Assisted Dying is one that causes debate. The uk government is being urged to take an active role, in the debate on Assisted Dying, withjersey and the isle of man, now considering its legalisation. It has been called the last taboo, we try not to think about death, but we try not to think about death, but we are all going to die. 18 we try not to think about death, but we are all going to die. We are all going to die. 18 years aro we are all going to die. 18 years ago esther we are all going to die. 18 years ago Esther Rantzen we are all going to die. 18 years ago Esther Rantzen made we are all going to die. 18 years ago Esther Rantzen made a we are all going to die. 18 yearsj ago Esther Rantzen made a bbc documentary called how to have a good death. Now, undergoing treatment for terminal lung cancer, she believes that how and when her life ends should be her decision. If we can get this over and decided and if every party would put this in their manifesto, that we will hold a debate and have a free vote, the rest of us can have a choice also about the way we want to end our lives, this would be an ideal step, and even in difficult circumstances where we dont want our Family Memories to be overwhelmed by the memory of us in pain and suffering. Theres a word that those campaigning for a change in the law on Assisted Dying keep coming back to choice. I have a very narrow choice. If i want to end my life in my own way, in my own time, then perhaps i have to go to dignitas in switzerland and perhaps i have to leave my family, my closest loved ones behind. Because if they go with me, they could be accused of conspiring to bring about my death. Within families, there will be conflicts, wont there . Have you experienced that yourself or has everybody sort of thought, well, you know, mum knows best . No, nobody thinks i know best in my family but what they certainly think is we should all have the choice. Shes renowned for being forthright, a straight talker. Death is a Taboo Subject for many, but not for dame esther. In the end, i shall drop off my perch. I do come to that conclusion. I have worked out that that is likely to be the way i go. How i go, well, its up to others, isnt it . But you think obviously that should be your decision . Well, at the moment its not. Hopefully one day it will be. May not be in time for me, but lets hope in time for others. Shes adamant that any law change must include safeguards to protect the vulnerable. But says death is a part of life and a good death should be everyones right. John maguire, bbc news. We have some lines coming from the News Conference, the reaction from the police to the report into Sarah Everards death and Wayne Couzens behaviour, and mark rowley, the head of the metropolitan police, said Wayne Couzens was determined to hide his criminal views and behaviours and most Police Officers he worked with had no inkling and this has shaken your confidence in us and we understand that, he said. He said it paints a picture of failures in many Police Forces and he says we have changed our training i got much tougher on our vetting and since 2021 we have failed 3000 people at the Vetting Stage have got much tougher. He says he is not going to give any figures which might give a false impression that they are near the finishing stage. Chief constable Gavin Stevens said Wayne Couzens should never have been a Police Officer and this should never have happened. The deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blythe described the area of Sarah Everard is a Watershed Moment and she said the crimes have to be treated as a National Threat, an epidemic on the same level as Counter Terrorism and organised crime. We can have that conference in full in just a moment. Crime. We can have that conference in full injust a moment. I can give you more lines from the News Conference. Maggie blythe the deputy Chief Constable said the new Evidence Based approach started with rape and Sexual Offences and it puts the perpetrator into focus and she said they know the action they have taken needs to contribute and she said we are turning the tables on men who are violent towards women. She said the public are right to be angry about what you are hearing and reading about. A reminder that the report that has come out today is the first stage of report, giving 16 recommendations, and it has looked into how he managed, the report found he should never have been a Police Officer and he was known for violent and extreme pornography and he continued to be on the force. He was part of kent police and he joined the metropolitan police in 2018. The inquiry said he is accused of sexually assaulting a child who was barely in her teens when he was in his early 20s. In 2015 his car was linked to a report of Indecent Exposure but he was not even spoken to at the time. This is a moment that the person who led the inquiry said needed to be a time to bring up a red flag and start to look at these issues, especially recruitment im vetting which is what the police have been reacting to at the moment. We heard from mark rowley that he is keen to change the culture and that they have been trying to weed out some of the Police Officers who have been behaving badly. We can bring you some other news before we have the News Conference. Parents in england who take their children out of School Without permission, are to face higher fines. From september, the penalty will be £80, then doubling to £160, if it isnt paid within three weeks. One head teachers� union, says the fines are needed to avoid chaos in schools. Branwenjeffreys, has more details. At this little primary in grimsby, fewer children are missing days than last year. The staff work with parents to make school welcoming. But some families say they can only afford holidays in term time. The rules leave the school limited options. The thing that most supports our parents in understanding the children, the importance of children being in school, is the relationships. So yes, the fines are one thing, but that support and those relationships we offer our parents is the most important thing. Fines for missing School Without permission will change in england from september. At the moment, its £60 per parent. Next school year it will be £80 per parent, going up to £160 if not paid, with a maximum two fines per parent every three years. As a parent, your chance of being fined depends on where you live, and thats because Different Councils have been setting their own policies. These new guidelines say schools must consider a fine after five days of unauthorised absence. Headteachers will still have some discretion, but this is a tougher approach and it is likely to lead to more fines. At a play centre in redcar, we asked parents what they thought about fines. I think its shocking and i dont think anyones going to listen to it because it wont stop me from taking my child out if i can only afford that time. I think its a bit frustrating because fair enough, educations important, but sos life experiences. At the grimsby school, the Education Secretary heard from children. So if youre really ill but if youve just got a sniffle and youre feeling. Or a little cough. A cough or something, then you can come in. Here, they have points and prizes to encourage attendance. Fines are a last resort for most schools, so why increase them . Obviously, we want to support those parents and those children that are struggling to go in school. But if its a deliberate decision to take your child out of school for unauthorised absence, then thats something that we dont want to encourage in the school system. Something has shifted in communities since covid. The link between school and families more fragile and still many children are missing a lot of lessons. Branwenjeffreys, bbc news, grimsby. We can return to reaction out to the Firearms Officer Wayne Couzens who killed Sarah Everard and the report that has followed. We can bring you the News Conference in Central London which set out the Police Response to the conclusions of the inquiry. We response to the conclusions of the in. Ui. ~ , response to the conclusions of the inuui. ~ ,. , response to the conclusions of the inuui. ~ ,. ,. ,. , inquiry. We will try to get around as many of inquiry. We will try to get around as many of you inquiry. We will try to get around as many of you as inquiry. We will try to get around as many of you as we inquiry. We will try to get around as many of you as we can. Inquiry. We will try to get around i as many of you as we can. Welcome inquiry. We will try to get around as many of you as we can. Welcome to National Police as many of you as we can. Welcome to National Police chiefs as many of you as we can. Welcome to National Police chiefs council, as many of you as we can. Welcome to National Police chiefs council, my National Police chiefs council, my name is Gavin Stevens, the chair of the National Police chiefs council, and with me is deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blythe, chief executive of the college of policing, andy marsh, and from two other Police Forces affected, mark rowley and simon chesterman. I will open with a brief Opening Statement followed by maggie with thoughts on our Work Tackling violence against women and girls and then we will move to questions to allow plenty of time for that. The harrowing murder of Sarah Everard carried out by a serving Police Officer who abused his position of trust has caused untold suffering. Wayne couzens should never have been a Police Officer and his offending should have stopped soon and this should never have happened. Listening this morning to the clear findings of a catalogue of missed opportunities and red flags left me aghast. Police leaders across the uk will feel the same and take this as an urgent call forfurther action. And a reminder of how far we still have to go. We are reviewing the recommendations in detail and i do not underestimate just how important this is for all of society. On behalf of policing, i cannot adequately express to the Sarah Everard family how sorry we are to them and to all those who loved Sarah Everard. Others have also suffered and i apologise to any woman or girl who has fallen victim to abuse by a Police Officer. Across history there are crimes which send a signal to us all, a signal not just about the depravity of the perpetrator but one of problems in our society or failures in our institutions. This is a glowing red signal to all Police Leaders that we must do everything humanly possible to enact these recommendations and change policing for future generations. To give some reassurance, we are already taking action to make sure that there is nowhere to hide in policing for wrongdoers and that our misconduct and vetting processes are reformed and vetting processes are reformed and our values are researched and this report makes clear we have much more to do. We collectively will not stop until the public, especially women and girls, get the Police Service they expect and deserve and their confidence in our role as protectors is rebuilt. I their confidence in our role as protectors is rebuilt. Their confidence in our role as protectors is rebuilt. I wanted to re Eat Protectors is rebuilt. I wanted to repeat that protectors is rebuilt. I wanted to repeat that sarah protectors is rebuilt. I wanted to repeat that Sarah Everards protectors is rebuilt. I wanted to i repeat that Sarah Everards murder will remain repeat that Sarah Everards murder will remain one of the darkest days in a policing history and what followed, i believe, was a Watershed Moment, followed, i believe, was a Watershed Moment, a followed, i believe, was a Watershed Moment, a Turning Point for policing and society moment, a Turning Point for policing and society in how we know more needs and society in how we know more needs to and society in how we know more needs to be and society in how we know more needs to be done to radically reduce violence needs to be done to radically reduce violence against women and girls and there hnsnt violence against women and girls and there hasnt been a moment since i took my there hasnt been a moment since i took my role there hasnt been a moment since i took my role that i have not focused on this took my role that i have not focused on this and took my role that i have not focused on this and the need for policing to improve on this and the need for policing to improve in on this and the need for policing to improve in how it responds to violence improve in how it responds to violence against women and girls. This is violence against women and girls. This is a violence against women and girls. This is a significant moment, a systemic this is a significant moment, a systemic issue that must be treated, so first systemic issue that must be treated, so first and systemic issue that must be treated, so first and foremost, this is about understanding these crimes, that have to understanding these crimes, that have to he understanding these crimes, that have to be treated as a National Threat, have to be treated as a National Threat, an have to be treated as a National Threat, an academic and a National Threat threat, an academic and a National Threat on threat, an academic and a National Threat on the same level as Counter Terrorism threat on the same level as Counter Terrorism and its serious and organised terrorism and its serious and organised crime. We have mobilised policing organised crime. We have mobilised policing to organised crime. We have mobilised policing to put violence against women policing to put violence against women and girls on that same level and we women and girls on that same level and we have set National Standards over the and we have set National Standards over the last two years and we havent over the last two years and we havent reinforced to our Police Officers havent reinforced to our Police Officers on havent reinforced to our Police Officers on the front line the need to Focus Officers on the front line the need to focus on officers on the front line the need to focus on investigations which are related to focus on investigations which are related to to focus on investigations which are related to crimes against women and. Irls related to crimes against women and girls related to crimes against women and girls we related to crimes against women and girls we have reinforced. But you only need girls we have reinforced. But you only need to girls we have reinforced. But you only need to look at the statistics to see only need to look at the statistics to see how only need to look at the statistics to see how far we have to go and we do want to see how far we have to go and we do want a to see how far we have to go and we do want a Police Service that responds do want a Police Service that responds to victims with respect and empathy responds to victims with respect and empathy and we want all recently lines empathy and we want all recently lines of empathy and we want all recently lines of inquiry that can identify a perpetrator, that they are followed and used perpetrator, that they are followed and used alongside the Evidence Base in these and used alongside the Evidence Base in these areas that we are gathering. This new Evidence Based approach has started this new Evidence Based approach has started with this new Evidence Based approach has started with rape this new Evidence Based approach has started with rape and this new Evidence Based approach has started with rape and sexual started with rape and Sexual Offences, started with rape and Sexual Offences, and started with rape and Sexual Offences, and it started with rape and Sexual Offences, and it puts started with rape and Sexual Offences, and it puts a started with rape and Sexual Offences, and it puts a relentless focus offences, and it puts a relentless focus on offences, and it puts a relentless focus on the offences, and it puts a relentless focus on the perpetrator, offences, and it puts a relentless focus on the perpetrator, and focus on the perpetrator, and supporting focus on the perpetrator, and supporting victims focus on the perpetrator, and supporting victims focus on the perpetrator, and supporting victims alongside other organisations. Supporting victims alongside other organisations. We supporting victims alongside other organisations. We have supporting victims alongside other organisations. We have worked supporting victims alongside other. Organisations. We have worked with the violence against women and girls sector, the violence against women and girls sector, the the violence against women and girls sector, the womens sector, with academics, sector, the womens sector, with academics, and with victim survivors academics, and with victim survivors. We have listened and we still know survivors. We have listened and we still know that the action we are taking still know that the action we are taking needs to continue. This is about taking needs to continue. This is about investing far into the future. We know about investing far into the future. We know we still have a long way to lo. We know we still have a long way to o. | we know we still have a Long Way To Go i have we know we still have a Long Way To Go. I have said before that we are turning go. I have said before that we are turning the go. I have said before that we are turning the tables on men who are violent, turning the tables on men who are violent, violent to women, both externally, but also internally, looking externally, but also internally, looking at our own insider threat. There looking at our own insider threat. There is
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