Sarah Everard’s killer, Wayne Couzens, has been able to keep his taxpayer-funded pension pot, despite ministers’ attempts to strip him of the payments.
The Government is now weighing up whether fresh legislation may be needed to resolve what is described as an ongoing and complex legal process.
Couzens was serving as a Metropolitan Police officer in March 2021 when he falsely arrested Sarah Everard using his warrant card as she walked home from a friend’s house in south London during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He subsequently raped and murdered her, for which he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a tariff of a whole life order on September 30, 2021.
While the murderer’s Scotland Yard pension payments were successfully halted, he remains the beneficiary of his Civil Nuclear Constabulary pension.
A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesman said they were “absolutely determined that Wayne Couzens does not receive a Civil Nuclear Constabulary pension”.
Freedom of information requests reveal no pension forfeitures have occurred from the CNC between 2020 and September 2025, with this situation is understood to remain unchanged.
While his Met pension was forfeited in 2023 following an application by London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, the amount involved was understood to be negligible due to his brief service there.
Wayne Couzens is benefiting from a taxpayer-funded pension pot
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However, Couzens accumulated approximately seven years of pension entitlement with the CNC between 2011 and 2018, guarding nuclear facilities.
This specialist force falls under the energy secretary’s remit rather than the home secretary, meaning its pension arrangements “sits outside the normal police pension regulations”.
Sir Sadiq has demanded every possible measure be taken to prevent Couzens from receiving his CNC pension. “After committing such heinous crimes, Wayne Couzens should not receive a penny in a taxpayer-funded pension,” he told Sky News.
“Londoners would be furious if he did.”
Sarah Everard was murdered in March 2021
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The CNC itself recommended, upon Couzens’ conviction, he should forfeit his pension benefits.
However, the constabulary confirmed it holds no decision-making authority in such matters.
Couzens was also convicted of indecent exposure offences committed in February 2021 and 2020, all occurring during his time with the Met.
Pension forfeiture rules require an officer to have committed an Official Secrets Act offence or been convicted of a crime deemed gravely injurious to state interests, connected to their police service, or likely to cause serious loss of public confidence.
Bethan Shellard-Dedman, a lecturer in policing practice, explained while Couzens’ pension would be suspended during imprisonment, his family could claim up to half of it upon his death.
Should forfeiture succeed, the officer receives their own contributions back while the force retains its portion.
Ms Shellard-Dedman noted police forces typically contribute around 65 per cent of the total pension pot.