Three Met police officers have been found guilty of misconduct for accessing police files relating to the disappearance and murder of Sarah Everard with ‘no proper police purpose’, a court has found.
PC Myles McHugh was among three officers found guilty of misconduct at a three-week disciplinary hearing in south-east London.
The panel also agreed that former Met police detective Hannah Rebbeck would have been sacked if she had not previously resigned.
The conduct of McHugh and Rebbeck was described by the panel as an ‘extraordinary breach of trust’.
When Sergeant Mark Harper was given a final written warning about the incident, it would last three years.
Ms Everard was abducted, raped and murdered in 2021 by Met cop Wayne Couzens on her way home from a friend’s house in Clapham, south London.
The hearing heard that officers had seen X-rays of the 33-year-old murdered man, as well as investigation logs and witness statements.
Detective Constable Tyrone Ward, former Inspector Akinwale Ajose-Adeogun and former Detective Sergeant Robert Butters also faced similar misconduct hearings, but the panel ruled that they had legitimate reasons to access the information and did not breach police standards.
A Met police officer has been sacked after accessing police files relating to the disappearance and murder of Sarah Everard
Ms Everard, 33, was abducted, raped and murdered in 2021 by Met police killer Wayne Couzens (pictured) as she walked home from a friend’s house in Clapham, south London
In total, 68 officers and 36 staff members were initially identified as potentially accessing files relating to the investigation without a legitimate police purpose.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said: “Today as always, our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Sarah Everard. We have apologized to them for the increased distress caused by this case and I understand their further questions and concerns.
“Our officers and staff are regularly reminded that police systems and certain files should only be accessed where there is a legitimate police purpose to do so.
‘This includes reminder screens and warning pages when logging into the software system, as well as mandatory training on information management that everyone in the organization must complete.
‘It is clear that the panel has carefully considered the circumstances of each individual case before coming to the conclusion that the three officers had no acceptable reason to see this information.’
Ms Everard was arrested on the street as she walked home from a friend’s house in Brixton on March 3, 2021.
He had been reported missing by his girlfriend, who he called for about 14 minutes on the approximately 2.5 mile journey home which started at around 9pm.
The marketing assistant, who grew up in York and lives in London, was seen on doorbell cameras around 9pm walking along Poynders Road towards Tulse Hill.
Several areas were searched in Clapham as police tried to find missing Sarah
Ms Everard was arrested on the street as she walked home from a friend’s house in Brixton on March 3, 2021
He had been reported missing by his girlfriend, who called him about 14 minutes into the 2.5-mile trip that started at 9 p.m.
CCTV caught him alone at a quarter past nine and again at 9.28pm, before he was seen on a police car camera marked at 9.32pm.
Then around 9.35pm, bus cameras captured two figures on the road and a white Vauxhall Astra with its hazard lights flashing.
Footage from another bus caught the same car with both front doors open.
The vehicle was later confirmed to have been hired from Dover after police caught the registration number and tracked it as it left London for Kent.
A major Metropolitan Police investigation was launched and her body was found a week later in woodland in Kent.
On March 9, 2021, Couzens was arrested and charged with kidnapping and raping Everard. He was later accused of killing her after the media reports were over.
In July of that year, Couzens pleaded guilty to all three charges at the Old Bailey and was given a rare life sentence.
