The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said his thoughts are with the family and loved ones of Sarah Everard on the “unimaginably difficult day” which marks the third anniversary of her murder.
Ms Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, was raped and killed by Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens, who was off duty, as she walked home in south London on March 3 2021.
The 51-year-old used his status as a police officer to trick Ms Everard into thinking he could arrest her for breaking lockdown rules in place at the time.
An inquiry chaired by Lady Elish Angiolini said last week that Couzens should never have been given a job as a police officer and chances to stop the sexual predator were repeatedly ignored and missed.
Mr Khan said it will “take years” to repair the damaged trust and confidence in the police.
“My thoughts are with the family and loved ones of Sarah Everard on the third anniversary of her tragic death, on what must be an unimaginably difficult day for all those who knew and loved Sarah,” he said.
Ms Everard’s abduction and murder galvanised demands for tackling violence towards women.
Mr Khan said: “We owe it to Sarah, Zara Aleena, Sabina Nessa, Nicole Smallman, Bibaa Henry and every other woman who has had their life brutally stolen from them to do all we can to prevent violence against women and girls.”
“As mayor, I have ensured the Met is now on a path of far-reaching reform and we are starting to see some improvements, with stronger vetting and the removal of more rogue police officers and staff,” Mr Khan said.
“But the recent findings from the Angiolini Inquiry highlight how far policing in this country still has to go to raise standards and rebuild trust.
Zara Aleena, a 35-year-old law graduate, was murdered by Jordan McSweeney as she walked home from a night out in Ilford, east London, on June 26, 2022.
Her killer was jailed for life but a probation report in January found McSweeney had been incorrectly assessed as medium rather than high risk when he was freed from his ninth prison term, meaning he should have been returned to jail for breaching the terms of his release.
After her murder, the Mayor of London said there was “an epidemic” of violence against women and girls.
Sisters Nicole Smallman, 27, and Bibaa Henry, 46, were stabbed to death by Danyal Hussein in north-west London on June 6, 2020.
In response to the Angiolini inquiry, Home Secretary James Cleverly announced that police officers will be automatically suspended in future if charged with certain criminal offences.
Meanwhile, Labour has said it will introduce compulsory violence against women and girls training for every police officer and promised an overhaul of police vetting procedures.
