Mother says Sarah Everard added to beauty of world

The mother of Sarah Everard has said her daughter "added to the beauty of the world", five years on from her death.

Susan Everard wrote a tribute piece for British Vogue, in which she remembered her daughter's love of travel, dancing, and her sense of humour, as well as her principled nature.

"She was interested in the world around her and made the most of life. There was a depth to her, she led her life with decency and integrity," Susan Everard wrote.

"I miss the goodness of Sarah: she was thoughtful and dependable and highly principled."

Sarah Everard was photographed by Vogue at V Festival in 2010, as part of a street fashion series by the magazine, something her mother said she was "thrilled" to feature in.

"It was a golden time when she had recently graduated and was back home from travels to south-east Asia and already making plans for future adventures," she wrote.

"Although it is bittersweet, I love to see her, happy and beautiful, with her whole life ahead of her."

Susan Everard, from York, added: "She cared about others and worried about us in the pandemic.

"She had a large network of friends who were dear to her; we meet up with them now to celebrate her.

"Most of all, she was a loving and caring young woman; her many friendships are a testament to her lovely nature. She added to the beauty of the world," her mother wrote.

Susan Everard's tribute was published as Britain's most senior police officer Sir Mark Rowley, hailed the family's "extraordinary dignity in the face of unbearable grief" on the fifth anniversary of her murder.

Sarah Everard, 33, was raped and killed by serving Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens, who tricked her into thinking she could be arrested for breaking Covid lockdown rules as she walked home from a friend's house in south London on 3 March 2021.

Sir Mark said "several ghastly cases of police officers committing awful offences against women" were bound to affect people's trust in the UK's biggest police force.

He insisted more women were reporting allegations to the police, but said rebuilding trust in London would take time.

"I can give the reassurance that we're doing everything possible to avoid people who are a risk to anybody - women and children or otherwise - joining the organisation or staying in this organisation," he said.

Sir Mark told the BBC that 1,500 people had been "rooted out" since 2022 and were no longer working for the force, including many because of inappropriate behaviour towards women.

However, some women's charities said trust in policing remained in crisis.

Sir Mark said Sarah Everard's murder was "as devastating today as it was in 2021".

"It was an unthinkable abuse of power and a total violation of the values that the Met, and policing, stands for," he said.

"On the day I heard what he had done, I felt devastated for the immense harm his actions caused to the trust that underpins our relationship with the communities we serve.

"What [Couzens] did shook policing to its core. It made decent, dedicated officers and staff across the country furious that one of our own could commit such a monstrous crime.

"We will always be deeply sorry: for the unimaginable harm done to Sarah, for the trauma endured by her family - who have shown extraordinary dignity in the face of unbearable grief - and for the profound damage inflicted on the trust Londoners should be able to place in their police service."

Couzens was given a whole-life jail term at the end of his Old Bailey trial in September 2021, and the victim impact statement made by Sarah Everard's mother led to the unmasking of another predator in the Met.

One of the victims of David Carrick was moved to come forward and make a report to the police, which eventually led to his conviction as a serial rapist.

The cases led to two reviews. The first report by Baroness Louise Casey in March 2023 found the Met was institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic.

Then an inquiry by Dame Elish Angiolini in February 2024 concluded that the Met and two other police forces could and should have stopped Couzens being a police officer.

An internal review by the force, published in January, found the Met had lowered vetting standards into the backgrounds of prospective and existing police officers and staff between 2013 and 2023.

Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan said there was "much more work to do" to ensure women and girls felt safe in the capital, and that he would do everything in his power to help end violence against women and girls.

Jess Phillips, minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, said her thoughts were with Sarah Everard's family and all those who loved her.

"I will do everything I can to ensure women and girls can live free from fear and harm - something Sarah was so cruelly denied."

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