Sarah Everard Verdict: Couzens Gets Whole Life Sentence

Ex-Met Police officer Wayne Couzens gets whole-life prison sentence at the Old Bailey after admitting kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard.

From Sky News: 

Key points: 

• Ex-Met Police officer Wayne Couzens gets whole-life prison sentence after admitting kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard
• Judge calls him 'warped and brutal' and says he was planning his 'hunt' for lone female for more than a month
• Couzens used a 'false arrest' to handcuff 33-year-old marketing executive during abduction
• Ms Everard disappeared as she walked home in Clapham, south London, on 3 March - her body was found a week later in woodland in Kent
• The killing sparked protests over the rates of violence against women

Sky News published, in a minute by minute account, the court proceedings in which Wayne Couzens was sentenced:

At 11.57am:

Judge: Couzens knew he may have to kill woman on night of planned abduction and rape

Lord Justice Fulford says a doctor had spoken to Wayne Couzens and it "seems likely" he may have suffered from episodes of mild depression.

However, the doctor said there was "no link between the depression and these offences", the judge told the court.

The judge says he has "no doubt" that Couzens hired a vehicle that was credible as a police car.

He adds that Couzens had "at no stage" offered a full account of what happened.

The judge says determining whether Couzens went out to kill someone that evening is "a difficult issue".

He concludes that given the planning and preparation Couzens must have realised he may have to kill the woman he kidnapped and raped.

12.07:

Ex-police officer Wayne Couzens has been sentenced to a whole life order for the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard.

12.13:

Tears and sighs of relief from Sarah Everard's loved ones

There were sighs of relief from Sarah Everard's family as her killer Wayne Couzens was sentenced to a whole life prison sentence. 

Several friends and relatives in the public gallery are crying and wiping their eyes.

Ms Everard's mother Susan stared at Couzens in the dock as Lord Justice Fulford delivered his sentence

Couzens stood in the dock shaking slightly, with his hands clasped in front of him, as the whole life order was announced.

The judge says Couzens has shown "no evidence of genuine contrition".

12.17:

Mother of House of Commons calls for Cressida Dick to resign.

12.20:

Killer 'didn't show any tell-tale signs' 

A former investigator on the Sarah Everard case has said those who knew Wayne Couzens did not notice any "tell-tale signs" or "red flags" that he could be a killer. 

Couzens had been dubbed "The Rapist" by some around him even before the killing, but investigator Simon Harding said this nickname was not widely known and "a lot of people didn't notice he was this person". 

Mr Harding called this "deeply disturbing" and said the whole life sentence handed to the killer was the "only appropriate" one. 

12.21:

‘Evil’ Wayne Couzens treated Sarah Everard ‘with vile depravity’ – prosecutors

Wayne Couzens’s crimes were “truly evil” and he treated Sarah Everard with “vile depravity”, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Nick Price, the head of the CPS's special crime and counter terrorism division, said: “Wayne Couzens treated her with vile depravity. It was a truly evil thing to do. 

“The court has now heard the evidence that showed his deliberate planning and continued efforts to cover up his crimes. 

“We all feel betrayed that Couzens abused his position as a police officer to commit such abhorrent crimes. 

"All of us should be free to walk our streets safely."