Boris Johnson has urged the public to 'trust in the police' as anger grows over the brutal and pre-meditated killing of Sarah Everard by Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens.
The prime minister said police do a 'wonderful job' but acknowledged there were problems in how violence against women and girls is tackled.
He suggested recruiting more female police officers while vowing to fix a 'snarled-up system' which has secured too few successful rape convictions.
It comes after it was revealed Couzens used the cover of Covid laws to stop and arrest Miss Everard as she was walking home in Clapham, south London, on March 3.
Prime minister Boris Johnson (pictured) said police do a 'wonderful job' but acknowledged there were problems in how violence against women and girls is tackled
Home Secretary Priti Patel (pictured) branded the killing of Ms Everard a 'scandal' while admitting changes must be made in how violence against women is tackled.
He handcuffed her and put her in the back of his car before raping and killing her and dumping her body in a wooded area in Ashford, Kent, where her remains were discovered a week later.
It was later reported that Couzens exchanged misogynistic, racist and homophobic texts with his police colleagues who are now facing a criminal investigation, while Met Chief Dame Cressida Dick faces calls to resign.
But asked if he had confidence in the police, the PM told the BBC Friday: 'I do think that we can trust the police and I think that the police do a wonderful, wonderful job.'
However he added that the Government needed to get to the bottom of 'what on earth' happened to ensure it is never repeated.
On the reported Whatsapp group he said the authorities should 'come down hard' on officers found guilty of misconduct.
Five officers and a former officer are among those being investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) for distributing 'grossly offensive', obscene or menacing material.
Couzens - who was sentenced to a whole-life prison term this week - is understood not to be one of those under investigation, but was involved in sharing messages.
The Met has vowed to make women safer after the murder of Sarah Everard (pictured) by a serving officer - urging frightened people to hail a bus - but women say the new strategy is 'deeply insulting' and should focus more on stopping violent men
Mr Johnson said he believes 'hundreds of thousands' of officers will be 'absolutely heart sick' at the events surrounding Ms Everard's death.
He said: 'I think there will be hundreds of thousands of police officers - let alone myself - up and down the country who will be absolutely heartsick by what has happened.
'And what I would really urge the public is that - I do believe in the police, I do think we can trust the police and I think the police do a wonderful, wonderful job.
'The problem is, we have too few prosecutions for rape and too few convictions. What you're seeing is the whole system snarled up with evidential problems, with data issues - the mobile phones, disclosures, all that kind of stuff and it's a nightmare for the women concerned.
'So we've got to fix it, we've also got to address the issues going on within the police force. You've seen the stuff about the officers in the Whatsapp group, you've got to come down very hard on them.'
He added: 'I think that Priti Patel is absolutely right in that we've got to get to the bottom of what on earth happened with Wayne Couzens. We make sure that nothing like that happens again.
'But what we're doing now is not just putting a lot more money into safer streets, into CCTV, into street lights, but recruiting more female police officers, and I think that can make the most fundamental change of all.'
It comes as Home Secretary Priti Patel branded the killing of Ms Everard a 'scandal' while admitting changes must be made in how violence against women is tackled.
She told the Evening Standard: '[What happened to Sarah] is an absolute scandal and the police will have to make some changes.'
She also echoed Mr Johnson's line of trusting police, adding: 'We can trust them. Police officers are sickened by what happened. Thank God [what happened to Sarah] doesn’t happen regularly.'
It comes after a legal expert warned that bus drivers could end up being arrested if they stop to help women following Scotland Yard advice to 'hail' them if they are frightened by a police officer after the murder of Ms Everard.
Lawyer and commentator David Green warned the 'unrealistic and misconceived' new guidance by the Met Police could cause chaos and in extreme cases see women Tasered for resisting arrest.
Scotland Yard was today accused of pouring scorn on frightened women after the force's new 'deeply insulting' and 'derisory' strategy urged them to 'wave down a bus' if they fear being abducted by police.
Its 'tone deaf' advice also urges women to 'run into a house', 'shout out to a passer-by' or call 999 if they don't trust a policeman who has stopped them.
Mr Green said: 'Imagine the scenes of a person challenging what may be a lawful arrest by stopping a bus and getting the bus driver involved.
'It would probably end up with the hapless bus driver being arrested as well.
'One gets the sense that the writer of this police statement had, by the end of it, ran out of ideas and was winging it like an unprepared student in the last half-hour of an examination.
'But even the other advice in the statement is unrealistic and misconceived. Anyone challenging arrest can say hello to the offence of resisting or wilfully obstructing a constable in the execution of their duty. They may also say hello to Mr Taser.'
The Met's advise to flag down a bus has caused particular anger and MPs today called for an independent inquiry into the murder of Sarah Everard and how the Metropolitan Police failed to root out Wayne Couzens - a serving armed officer who would go on to abduct and kill the marketing executive using his warrant card and cuffs.
The inquiry would look at Sarah's murder and Couzens use of his powers to kidnap her - but also cases involving police officers and staff who attacked women as well as the 10 murders of women in capital in the past year including Sabina Nessa in Kidbrooke a fortnight ago and sisters Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry in last year. Officers guarding the crime scene shared selfies with their bodies.
Today former Met Commissioner Lord Stevens said there had been 'extraordinary blunders' in the run up to Sarah's murder and the forces' vetting system is not 'fit for purpose' because he slipped through the net and went go on to commit the appalling crimes.
He said: 'The fact that this individual in 2015 was seen to be driving around without any clothes on from his waist downwards, the fact he was called a rapist, the fact that he was a really strange individual, I mean there is no way that that man should have been given a gun. A proper vetting process, the vetting process is obviously not fit for the purpose and this needs all to be changed, it's an extraordinary story of blunders and of that there's no doubt'.
Jess Phillips, Labour's shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, said the advice is 'tone deaf', adding she 'would have got in the car and almost anybody would have got in the car' and 'the onus is on the Metropolitan Police to do better'.
Shadow cabinet member Wes Streeting said: 'Apparently bus drivers should stop if someone is waving them down in the street away from a bus stop, just in case, because that's a better answer than the Met getting their act together?! Utterly woeful'.
As another crisis engulfed the Met, Policing minister Kit Malthouse admitted the case had struck a 'devastating blow to the confidence that people have in police officers', and he warned thousands of officers will need to do more so trust can be rebuilt.
Women in London have said that they would now run away if faced with a lone officer after Wayne Couzens staged an arrest using lockdown laws to abduct, rape and murder Sarah on March 3.
One said she would be 'scared, frightened and try to get away from them because I wouldn't trust any policeman again after what happened to Sarah'. Another said: 'If it happened to me I'd be so worried I'd just get into my car and drive'.
As The Met and its Commissioner face yet another crisis, it also emerged today:
The Met knew a 'Wayne Couzens' was suspected of flashing two women at McDonald's three days before Sarah Everard's murder - but failed to identify him as one of their own officers until afterwards; Detectives from the Met Police are actively investigating if killer cop Wayne Couzens is connected to any further historic crimes; Couzens exchanged misogynistic, racist and homophobic texts with his police colleagues who are now facing a criminal investigation. 16 officers are being probed; Met chief Cressida Dick still faces a clamour to resign after she admitted Sarah Everard's murder had corroded trust in the police and brought 'shame' on her force;This is the moment Wayne Couzens staged his fake arrest to lure Sarah Everard into being handcuffed and put in the back of his car. Women are now being urged to 'hail a bus' or 'run'
Wayne Couzens (left) exchanged misogynistic, racist and homophobic texts with his police colleagues who are now facing a criminal investigation, it has been reported, as Dame Cressida Dick (right) faces calls to resign
Couzens lapped West and South-West London looking for a woman to snatch, rape and murder before finding poor Sarah
It came as Dame Cressida Dick came under more pressure to resign over the scandal - and to fix the force's toxic culture - after it emerged Couzens exchanged misogynistic, racist and homophobic texts with his police colleagues.
Dame Cressida said yesterday she was 'sorry' and 'sickened' at how Couzens was able to abuse his position but refused to quit as female officers claimed they were afraid to report their male colleagues for misconduct because they 'close ranks' and could abandon them on calls where they would have their 'heads kicked in' while waiting for backup.
Since March 2020 when Sarah Everard, 33, was murdered by Met Police officer Wayne Couzens, 48, some 77 women have been killed, according to Rape Crisis. Two weeks ago, primary school teacher Sabina Nessa, 28, was found dead in a park also in south London, described in court as a 'predatory' murder.
Legal experts have predicted that bus drivers stopping for women could get arrested themselves.
As part if its new strategy, the Met has pledged to deploy 650 new officers and increase patrols to do more to protect women and girls in the wake of Sarah Everard's murder by Couzens - but critics questioned why they weren't doing that already.
And anyone stopped on the street is encouraged to call 999 or use the officer's radio to confirm their warrant card is genuine - but many have pointed out that many not have stopped Couzens kidnapping Sarah because his warrant card and number was genuine.
Even Sir Stephen House, the Met's deputy commissioner, admitted yesterday that warrant cards may not be enough for officers to prove their identity in future.
Patsy Stevenson, who was arrested at the vigil for Sarah Everard in March, said the Metropolitan Police's suggestions of knocking on a door or waving a bus down were 'almost laughable if it wasn't so disgusting'.
The force advised anyone who is concerned a police officer is not acting legitimately during an interaction to ask where the officer's colleagues are; where they have come from; why they are there; and exactly why they are stopping or talking to them.
Anyone could verify the police officer by asking to hear their radio operator or asking to speak to the radio operator themselves, the force said, also suggesting that people who are concerned can shout out to a passer-by, run into a house, knock on a door, wave a bus down, or call 999.
Ms Stevenson told the PA news agency: 'I feel like they are just clutching at straws, because the advice isn't relevant. It's like a distraction because, number one, in that situation, you can't just stop and hail down a bus or a taxi or something.
'Can you imagine the distrust that people have right now where they have to protect themselves from the police in that manner? That is shocking.'
She said if someone had done something illegal it is the police giving them permission to run off, adding: 'It doesn't make any sense. It's like an irrelevant piece of advice. So I feel like it reads more like a distraction for them to seem like they're dealing with the issue, because they could have been enacting change for ages now, but they haven't, and they're still not doing it, they're just putting out a statement to quieten people down.'
The chairman of the Commons Justice Committee has said the Government should consider making misogyny a hate crime in the way that racism was following the Macpherson Inquiry into the killing of Stephen Lawrence.
Tory MP Sir Bob Neill told BBC Radio 4's The World At One: 'One of the things that was good after Macpherson was that it was recognised in due course that racism ought to be regarded as a particularly aggravating feature.
'We have made racially motivated offences a hate crime. I think there is a case now for looking at misogyny.'
Women have said that the new advice piles more pressure on them - rather than tackling violent men - with some saying that it 'grossly insulting' with the Met accused of releasing a guide to 'what they believe Sarah should have done'.
Comedian Sooz Kempner said: 'It's deeply insulting to Sarah's memory, her family and to women everywhere to now have 'in future, ladies, here's what you can do that Sarah failed to do to' spouted at us when taking some form of action against the man nicknamed 'the rapist' by colleagues was always an option'.
She added: 'Waving down a bus when you're not even at a bus stop is a complete impossibility anyway, they don't stop, you'd be lucky to get a second glance from the driver. And I dunno if you've heard but buses aren't just constantly driving down every single road 24/7'.
Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy said: 'We want to know what the Met are doing to address the deeply rooted problems with violence against women within the force. This completely derisory advice shows they're still not taking it seriously. And they wonder why trust is at an all-time low?'
Left-wing commentator Ash Sarkar said: 'Wayne Couzens was nicknamed 'The Rapist', shared racist and misogynistic messages with colleagues, and committed indecent in a car registered to him 72 hours before murdering someone. But it's Sarah Everard who should've waved down a bus'.
Writer Oriane Messina said: 'Don't go out alone at night. Don't wear short dresses. Don't trust an officer on his own. Don't talk to strangers. Don't draw attention to yourself. Don't drink too much. Don't be flashy. Don't be too weak looking. HANG ON.... How about telling men don't rape and murder women'.
Lord Justice Fulford said his decision to hand Couzens, 48, a whole-life tariff was significantly influenced by the way he had exploited his role as a police officer, a fact he said made the offence equal in seriousness to a murder carried out by a terrorist.
The force has announced that 650 new officers will be deployed in public places to better protect women and girls in the wake of Miss Everard's murder.
After stinging criticism over its handling of the case, the force vowed to increase patrols and publish a new strategy for tackling violence against women.
The strategy will outline how the Met will prioritise action against sexual and violent predatory offenders.
The force said it had also set up 'predatory offender units', which have arrested more than 2,000 suspects for domestic abuse, sex offences, and child abuse since November.
The 650 new officers will be sent into busy public places, including areas where women and girls 'lack confidence that they are safe', the Met said. The force will 'step up' patrols and provide an increased police presence in areas identified as hotspot locations for violence and harassment.
A Met Police spokesman said: 'The full horrific details of [Wayne Couzens'] crimes are deeply concerning and raise entirely legitimate questions. This is the most horrific of crimes, but we recognise this is part of a much bigger and troubling picture.'
The spokesman said other recent murders 'bring into sharp focus our urgent duty to do more to protect women and girls'.
Charity Rape Crisis warned 'women cannot keep themselves safe' and blasted 'a culture that trivialises and condones rape and sexual violence' as well as saying the justice system was 'systematically flawed'.
And it said women who 'do not stick to the arbitary and ineffective rulebook' deserved to be treated with respect as victims of crime and to enjoy the same freedoms as men - such as walking in a park at night.
It pointed to rape jokes going unchallenged, the expectation that men in the workplace behave decisively, the 'entitled' attitude of men who expect sexual interactions, and it suggested the murders of white women are given preferential treatment in the press.
Sandy Brindley, chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland, wrote: 'The visceral grief so many of us felt after the murder of Sarah Everard in March was real.
'The horrific details that have emerged this week at the sentencing of her murderer - not even two weeks after the tragic death of Sabina Nessa - have compounded this pain and brought into sharp reality that the fear we are raised to feel, though far from healthy, is legitimate.
'From an early age, we teach girls and women that our safety in public spaces is not something that we can or should count on, and it is our responsibility to keep ourselves safe from an ever-present threat.
'We are spoon-fed 'solutions' of holding keys between our fingers and sticking to the lit side of the path.
'We rarely stop to consider that, in telling girls and women we can prevent violence, what we are really doing is falsely telling those who experience such harm that they could or should have done something differently'.
Wayne Couzens exchanged misogynistic, racist and homophobic texts with his police colleagues who are now facing a criminal investigation, it has been claimed.
Five serving officers, three of whom work for the Metropolitan Police, and one former officer, allegedly shared horrific content with Sarah Everard's killer on a WhatsApp group in the months before the murder.
After his arrest in March, detectives found the 'vile' texts on his phone which the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IOPC) said were of a 'discriminatory and/or inappropriate nature'.
Aside from the three serving officers working for the Met, one under investigation is from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary and another works for Norfolk Constabulary, according to The Times.
The former officer in the group also previously worked for the Met, whose chief Dame Cressida Dick is yet again facing calls to resign.
When Sue Fish, a former chief constable of Nottinghamshire, was asked on Times Radio if she believed the police force was institutionally misogynistic, she replied: 'Yes, I do. And that's not just the Metropolitan Police, that's policing, structurally, across the country.'
The IOPC said in a statement: 'They are being investigated for gross misconduct for allegedly sending messages of a discriminatory and/or inappropriate nature, and for allegedly failing to challenge the messages sent by the others.
'Two of the MPS officers and the former MPS officer have also been notified that they are being criminally investigated for improper use of the public electronic communications network under Section 127 of the Communications Act.
'Criminal or gross misconduct investigations do not necessarily mean that charges or disciplinary proceedings will follow.'
The police watchdog is investigating the conduct of a total of 15 officers and a former officer linked to the Ms Everard case.
Asked earlier whether Couzens was a 'bad apple' in the police or an extreme example of an institutional problem, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave said: 'I'm wrestling with that myself.'
Others under investigation by the IOPC include a Scotland Yard probationer on the cordon at the scene where her body was discovered.
He is alleged to have sent a shocking WhatsApp message showing how a policeman could abduct and kill a woman as a joke.
Two other constables on probation are also being investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct over allegations they shared the graphic and failed to challenge it.
Another inquiry is underway separately into Police Federation members accused of breaching standards of professional behaviour by sharing information linked to the case on a secure messaging app.
The IOPC has said it will seek to conclude the investigations 'as swiftly as possible'.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that 771 Met officers and staff have faced sexual misconduct allegations since 2010, with at least 44 convicted of sexual offences.
Freedom of Information figures reveal that 163 were arrested and 83 were sacked without notice.
Of those arrested, 78 were charged and 44 convicted.
At least 18 were jailed and nine were given suspended jail sentences.
The allegations included rape, sexual harassment, sexual assault and abusing a position of power for sex.
Some 89 per cent of officers and staff members who faced an internal investigation over complaints were male. Formal action was taken in 156 cases.
As well as the sackings, 46 people retired or resigned once the complaint against them was upheld.
Of the sexual misconduct claims, it was found that there was no case to answer or the allegation was unsubstantiated on 446 occasions.
The force is Britain's largest, with 43,000 officers and staff.
It has 25 per cent of the total police budget for England and Wales.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said last night: 'We take any police-perpetrated abuse incidents extremely seriously and they are regularly scrutinised at a senior level.
'Any allegation, disclosure or conviction of sexual harassment or abuse perpetrated by an officer or member of staff is robustly investigated.'
He stressed: 'Tackling sexual offences is a priority for the Met – and that includes when our own officers or staff are accused of offences.
'The Met will not hesitate to bring forward prosecutions and disciplinary procedures where there is evidence to do so.'
Police forces across the country will have to work 'much harder' to win back public trust after the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving Met officer, a minister has said.
Policing minister Kit Malthouse said the case had struck a 'devastating blow to the confidence that people have in police officers', and he warned thousands of officers will need to do more so trust can be rebuilt.
Wayne Couzens was handed a whole life sentence on Thursday for the kidnap, rape and murder of the 33-year-old marketing executive, meaning he will never be freed from jail.
The Met has vowed to make the streets safer for women and girls as it said it is investigating whether Couzens committed more crimes before killing Ms Everard.
The force said it will no longer deploy plain clothes officers on their own after the Old Bailey heard Couzens had used lockdown rules and shown his warrant card to falsely arrest Ms Everard during the abduction.
The force advised anyone who is concerned a police officer is not acting legitimately during an interaction to ask where the officer's colleagues are; where they have come from; why they are there; and exactly why they are stopping or talking to them.
Anyone could verify the police officer by asking to hear their radio operator or asking to speak to the radio operator themselves, the force said, also suggesting suggested people who are concerned can shout out to a passer-by, run into a house, knock on a door, wave a bus down, or call 999.
It plans to send 650 new officers into busy public places and promised to 'step up' patrols in areas identified as 'hotspot' locations for violence and harassment.
Speaking on Sky News on Friday, Mr Malthouse said: 'They recognise that this has struck a devastating blow to the confidence that people have in police officers but also in the Met Police in particular.
'For those thousands and thousands of police officers out there who will have to work harder - much harder - to win public trust, it is a very, very difficult time.'
Mr Malthouse said there are important lessons to learn from what happened.
'My job is effectively to help the Home Secretary hold the police to account about what went wrong, how this monster slipped through the net to become a police officer, how we can make sure it doesn't happen again,' he said.
But he joined several other politicians and policing figures in rejecting mounting calls for Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick to resign, adding: 'She is a dedicated and talented and committed police officer who is driving the Metropolitan Police to ever greater standards of care and improvement and fighting crime.'
The Met is facing questions as to how Couzens was able to get a job with the force despite allegations made against him earlier in his career - prompting a wider debate over whether police vetting rules are strict enough.
Mr Malthouse told BBC Breakfast: 'One of the lessons that we will need to learn is the allegations that were made against him - where those investigations led to, why they did not pop up on his vetting or have any impact in his employment with the Metropolitan Police.
'That is currently under investigation.'
Jess Phillips, Labour's shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, said trust in police is 'not going to be built back overnight', telling BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'It is going to be built up if we see the Government and police forces starting to actually take violence against women and girls, and the complaints that women make day in, day out, seriously.'
It comes as Met chief Cressida Dick faces a clamour to resign after she admitted Sarah Everard's murder had corroded trust in the police and brought 'shame' on her force.
In what was described as Scotland Yard's 'darkest day', a string of MPs, including the chairman of the women and equalities select committee, said Dame Cressida should go.
They said it was clear she could not restore faith in Britain's biggest police force after one of her officers, Wayne Couzens, was sentenced to a whole-life term for Miss Everard's murder.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said the force had 'serious questions to answer' – and refused to give the beleaguered Met Commissioner her public backing.
As it was revealed police may have had enough information to identify Couzens as a sexual deviant before he raped and killed Miss Everard, Dame Cressida gave a humbled apology on the steps of the Old Bailey.
But as she apologised on behalf of the force, the Yard chief was heckled by protesters shouting 'resign'.
Miss Everard's family said the world was a 'safer place' after 48-year-old Couzens was sentenced to die in prison, with the judge saying his 'warped, selfish and brutal offending' had 'eroded' confidence in British policing.
The case has triggered immense public and political outrage after it emerged Couzens abused police powers to 'arrest' and abduct the 33-year-old marketing executive.
Officers did not check his vehicle records, which would have revealed a link to an indecent exposure in Kent in 2015 when Couzens was reported by a male motorist for driving around naked from the waist down.
Despite this failure, Met Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave provoked astonishment when he said Couzens would still have got into the force even if vetting officers had known, because Kent Police failed to identify Couzens – then one of their own special constables – as the driver and decided it did not merit any further action.
In another missed opportunity, 72 hours before the murder, staff at a drive-through McDonald's restaurant in Swanley told police that two female staff members had been flashed by a motorist who exposed himself on February 7 and again on February 27.
But despite being given CCTV evidence and the number plate of Couzens' car, detectives did not link the two incidents to the killer officer.
Had he been identified as a suspected sex offender, Couzens is likely to have been suspended and had his warrant card removed.
Mr Ephgrave said he didn't know whether Miss Everard's murder could have been prevented if vetting checks had been carried out properly , saying: 'If any of those things had been in a different order, would the outcome have been different? Well maybe.'
The deaths of Sarah and Sabina Nessa has led to an outpouring of grief and anger in Britain
The police watchdog is investigating the conduct of 15 officers and one former officer linked to the Sarah Everard (pictured) case
Quizzed by police, Couzens (pictured in handcuffs) lied that he had been 'leant on' by an Eastern European gang who threatened to harm his family if he did not agree to pick up a woman
Mr Ephgrave admitted trust in the police had been seriously damaged, adding: 'One of my daughters said to me, 'Dad, what am I supposed to do if I get stopped (by a policeman) coming home?'
It is understood that Dame Cressida will be called in by the Home Secretary following next week's Tory party conference to discuss the issue.
Meanwhile, detectives from the Met Police are actively investigating if Couzens is connected to any further historic crimes.
Officers this evening appealed for any so-far unknown victims of the sexual predator to contact them if they were targeted by him.
The Met action emerged hours after criminologists told MailOnline his crime suggested 'he had done this before'.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: 'As you would expect we continue to make enquiries to establish whether he has been involved in other criminal offences. As these investigations are ongoing we are unable to go into further detail although, at this time, we have not identified anything that is of the same level of seriousness as the crimes he has been sentenced for.
'We are keen to hear from anyone who may have information about any criminality they believe Couzens was involved in.'
The killer rapist, 48, who staged a fake arrest as a ploy to trap Ms Everard in the back of his car, was this morning sentenced to a whole life order for his barbaric crimes.
But experts say the confidence in which he carried out the abduction shows he had done it before. And the way he disposed of Miss Everard's body by burning her remains signalled 'experienced behaviour'.
The killer cop was nicknamed The Rapist because of his inappropriate behaviour around women, had an obsession with 'brutal porn' and flashed McDonald's workers before murdering Sarah Everard on March 3.
But he still passed a vetting process that saw him put in charge of a gun as he stood guard at embassies in London for Met Police.
The IOPC is also looking into Kent Police - where Couzens used to work as a volunteer - after it was accused of not investigating reports in 2015 that a man had been spotted driving down a road with no trousers on.
Met Police admitted 'one of a range of checks' when Couzens applied to join the force 'may not have been undertaken correctly'.
Couzens' car numberplate was linked to the 2015 indecent exposure but Met Police blamed the Kent force, claiming 'Kent Police investigated this allegation and decided to take no further action. Our review found that the record of this allegation and outcome may not have been found during the vetting checks.'
It comes as a list of eight blunders that left Couzens free to kill were revealed.
Criminologists Professor David Wilson and Dr David Holmes both say it is unlikely that this is Couzens first major crime
CCTV footage (pictured) captured by a passing bus showed Miss Everard in the back seat of Couzens' hire car after she was falsely 'arrested'
The deranged Met Protection Officer, who was wearing his police belt containing handcuffs, can be seen producing his warrant card as he claimed Miss Everard had breached Covid restrictions
Couzens' car is seen driving along Cavendish Road at 9.32pm, just minutes before he pulled over and stopped Miss Everard
Miss Everard was taken out of the hire car and forced into Couzens' own car (pictured) in a switch made at 11.30pm on North Military Road in Dover, Kent
In summarising the case as he sentenced Couzens, Lord Justice Fulford spoke at length at the detailed plans he had made to snatch a victim off the street.
He told the Old Bailey the killer 'spent at least a month travelling to London to research', adding 'The degree of preparation and the length of time over which it extended is to be stressed'.
The Met Police did not respond to whether he was being linked to any other serious crimes today. His previous force Kent is not believed to be looking at any historic offences.
But criminologist Professor David Wilson told MailOnline: 'I am absolutely convinced he is being looked at for other things. Everything revealed yesterday suggests Couzens has behaved in this way before.
'It suggests to me this wasn't his first offence. Nobody moves into this type of behaviour overnight – they are a long time in the making. Nothing would surprise me about Wayne Couzens and Wayne Couzens' previous offending.
CCTV footage of Miss Everard captured earlier on the night she was kidnapped in March, sparking a nationwide hunt
Miss Everard queued at Sainsbury's with a bottle of red wine as she headed to see a friend for dinner after work
Just hours before she was abducted and murdered Miss Everard was enjoying a normal Wednesday evening
Miss Everard walked from her home to see a friend via a Sainsbury's in Brixton Hill, south London
CCTV taken at 5.52pm on March 3 showed Miss Everard walking along Craster Road in Brixton, south London
'I would treat him in the same category as John Worboys – because of the circumstances of him using his occupation to target lone women.
'He was engaged in a lot of planning. One of the riskiest things was he drove her 80 miles with a handcuffed woman in the back of his car.
'The fact he did suggests he thought he was safe and that must come from the fact he has done something similar in the past.
'What was unusual – and suggests his experience – was his disposal of the body. Burning someone's remains is a good way to get rid of it. All of that suggests this is experienced behaviour.'
Miss Everard's boyfriend Josh Lowth arrives for the sentencing of her killer, policeman Couzens at the Old Bailey
Couzens, 48, was today given a whole life sentence for kidnap, rape and murder of Miss Everard. He will die in jail
This fridge was used by Couzens to burn Miss Everard's clothing and body just yards from his own plot of land. Criminologists have told MailOnline that his meticulous planning for the disposal of Miss Everard's body shows 'experienced behaviour', suggesting he may have struck before
The two vehicles used in killer cop's horrific crime: How Couzens used a rental Vauxhall Crossland and his own Seat family vehicle to commit his horrific crime. First, prowling central London for a lone woman before parking up in Clapham and confronting Miss Everard
The Old Bailey heard horrific details of the serving police officer's deceit and Sarah's final hours before she was raped, murdered and burned in a pre-meditated attack that was weeks in the planning:
Prosecution say five words summarise what PC Wayne Couzens did to Sarah Everard: 'Deception, kidnap, rape, strangulation, fire'; Friends in Deal said Couzens was regularly seen wearing his police belt with handcuffs and pepper spray, when not on duty, and he lied that he was an undercover police officer; In December 2020 he joined Match.com and said he had no wife and children. He also signed up to an escort agency; In January 2021, Couzens worked on COVID patrols and 'used this knowledge' to kidnap his victim, who he stopped after doing laps of west and south-west London on the night of March 3, 2021; On February 10 he bought a 'police standard issue handcuff key with double locking pin' from Amazon, which he used on his police-issue cuffs to detain Sarah Everard and force her into his hire car; On February 28, Couzens booked a hire car online from Enterprise and ordered a 100m roll of carpet protector film from Amazon, used to line the boot where he eventually kept Sarah's body; He had told his wife that he was working a night shift when he grabbed Sarah - in fact he was off duty and cruising the streets looking for a victim; A couple driving past witnessed the kidnapping. Couzens using his warrant card and handcuffs to make a false arrest. They believed she had 'done something wrong' so didn't intervene; A former boyfriend said Sarah was 'extremely intelligent, savvy and streetwise' and would never get into a stranger's vehicle 'unless by force or by manipulation', which is exactly what Couzens did; Sarah was driven 80 miles to the Kent coast, where she was raped and murdered after a five-hour ordeal; In 2019 Wayne Couzens bought plot of woodland in Hoads Wood near Ashford. He bragged it was 'perfect for day trips' - but it's where he burned Sarah's body and dumped it in bags in shallow water; Couzens took his family on a trip to the woods where he burned Miss Everard's body - allowing his children to play near where it was dumped; Phoned vet to arrange for an appointment to see his dog and handed in his Met Police firearms licence; Lied about being forced to 'pick up a girl' by an Eastern European gang who threatened his family; Admits to killing her with his belt - with prosecution saying injuries were consistent with his police belt; Couzens repeatedly self-harmed in his cell, as police divers found Miss Everard's phone in the River Stour; Miss Everard's father demanded killer 'look me in the face', mother said she was 'haunted' by murder and sister called Couzens 'a monster'; Court also heard how Couzens was 'attracted to brutal sexual pornography'.It comes as Couzens has been linked to an incident three days before Miss Everard was kidnapped which saw two members of staff being flashed at a branch of McDonald's in south London.