Mayor to 'drive through' cultural reforms in Met
It follows a damning report about missed chances to stop Sarah Everard's killer Wayne Couzens
Last updated 5th Mar 2024
Sadiq Khan will pledge to drive through cultural reforms in the Metropolitan Police to restore trust in the force after a damning report about missed chances to stop Sarah Everard's killer Wayne Couzens.
The inquiry, led by Lady Elish Angiolini, branded Couzens a "predatory sex offender and murderer" who should have never been a police officer, and laid bare a history of alleged sexual offending dating back nearly 20 years before he murdered the 33-year-old marketing executive.
After the third anniversary of Ms Everard's death, the mayor of London will open the latest London Policing Board on Tuesday by expressing his "deepest sympathies" to her loved ones, and labelling Lady Elish's report "one of the most shattering accounts of failure in British policing history".
"Knowing that a police officer harboured the capacity for such sadistic violence still haunts our city," Mr Khan will say.
"It's a perpetual reminder of why we're here and the importance of this board.
"Our task is one of the most urgent facing London today: to ensure we drive through the wide-ranging cultural and performance reforms needed within the Met, to ensure that we support and challenge the commissioner in his mission - so that we can renew trust and confidence in policing in our capital.
"Whilst the Met is now on the path to fundamental reform, we're clearly not there yet.
"I see police reform as a critical part of my mayoralty, and we must not be satisfied until Londoners have the police service they deserve."
The board will hear from Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley about progress on addressing the findings and recommendations of the Casey Review, which was commissioned by the Met after Ms Everard's murder.
It found the force was institutionally racist, homophobic and misogynist, and that there might be more officers like Couzens in its ranks.