Home Secretary Priti Patel confirmed in her Conference speech today that an independent inquiry will be launched to scrutinise the actions taken by police in the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder, and investigate how Wayne Couzens was allowed access to the Parliamentary estate throughout 2020. Refusing to address Couzens by name (instead referring to him only as ‘a monster’), Patel said:

“We need answers as to why this was allowed to happen […] I can confirm today, there will be an inquiry, to give the independent oversight needed, to ensure something like this can never happen again.”

Patel added that while she will “always” back the police, it was “abhorrent” that a serving officer was able to abuse his power in such a way, and that her strong relationship with the force means she can “ask them to do better“. This follows news yesterday that Lindsay Hoyle was already in discussions with the Metropolitan Police over Couzens’ Parliamentary access…