Killer cop Wayne Couzens secretly whisked to NHS hospital for £17k back op sparking fury over ‘appalling waste of money'

The Sun

14 hours ago

KILLER cop Wayne Couzens was secretly whisked to an NHS hospital for a back op — costing taxpayers an estimated £17,000.
The fiend, 52, who kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah Everard, required intensive security during his several days away from HMP Frankland, Durham.
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He underwent a lumbar procedure — also known as a spinal tap — which usually has an 18-week waiting time on the NHS.
The cost of getting him in and out of HMP Frankland in Durham was estimated to be £10,000 alone - while the procedure can cost up to £7,000.
The revelation was slammed as a waste of public money last night, amid concerns Couzens was allowed to jump the waiting list.
Labour's North Durham MP Luke Akehurst said: 'I would be disgusted if it turns out that this vile rapist and murderer was able to jump the queue in front of decent law-abiding people to get his treatment.
He should not be given any special treatment in jail. He's in prison as punishment for his terrible crimes - nobody should forget that
Robert Jenrick on Couzens
'The cost of the security surrounding his time in hospital is an appalling waste of public money.'
Tory shadow Justice Minister Robert Jenrick added: 'Wayne Couzens is one of the most despicable criminals in our jails and a traitor to the police uniform he wore.
'He should not be given any special treatment in jail. He's in prison as punishment for his terrible crimes — nobody should forget that.'
Couzens, who abused police powers to abduct Sarah, 33, in a fake Covid arrest before killing her in 2021, had the procedure this month.
The nearest unit offering his op is the University Hospital of North Durham.
A typical lumbar procedure sees medics sterilise the patient's back before delivering a local anaesthetic.
They then drain fluid with a syringe.
Couzens is believed to have spent several days in hospital before being driven the three miles back to the Category A prison's healthcare unit.
A source told how the operation was not an emergency and was carried out 'to make him comfortable'.
They said: 'People are angry at how he was treated — and how much effort the authorities went to, as well as how much it cost.
'Couzens is constantly moaning in jail and had been complaining about back pain so was assessed in healthcare at the prison.
'The security operation to get him to and from the hospital would have easily run to more than £10,000.
'He was taken straight from his cell into a Category A van, which is bullet-proof with a custody manager and at least four prison officers.
'While he was at the hospital, armed police would have been on guard. Couzens was classed as a 'high-risk escort' — not because he poses a danger but because of the danger to him from the public.
'He is recognisable and reviled so they do not take chances.
'He would have been treated on a ward — but in his own room — to keep him away from people. The prison and NHS have a duty of care to him, like they do with everyone.
'But this was apparently not even an emergency procedure and was basically done to relieve pressure on him and make him comfortable.'
Ex-prison governor Vanessa Frake, who ran London's notorious Wormwood Scrubs, said: 'Getting prisoners to operations like this is all down to risk. It would have taken a while to plan with the police and the hospital, assessing not only his safety, but the safety of prison staff, healthcare staff, other patients and the public.
'It's not an unusual thing for prisoners to go out to hospital. This is more unusual because he is who he is, and that makes it much more difficult not only for the prison staff but the hospital staff as well.
'I understand people's concerns about it. But more than that, I think about Sarah Everard's family and how they must be feeling.'
Sources said Couzens was 'reluctant' to move from the jail's hospital as he fears being attacked.
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We told in March 2022 how the former Met firearms officer had been allowed to buy an Xbox 360 as a reward for good behaviour.
But he then moaned after being barred from playing violent games like Call of Duty and Gears of War.
Couzens — handed a whole-life tariff because of his heinous crimes — is housed with other fiends including double child murderer Ian Huntley and morgue monster David Fuller.
He has previously been on suicide watch and is regularly placed on ACCT — Assessment, Care in Custody, and Teamwork — programmes which involve close monitoring of vulnerable lags.
Former Met detective Peter Bleksley said: 'Couzens should be at the very bottom of the pecking order when it comes to NHS treatment.
'It sticks in the craw when any killer like him is effectively whisked to the front of the queue. If anybody has had their procedures cancelled or even delayed so he can be treated, it is a scandal and an insult to the memory of Sarah.'
The Prison Service would not comment on healthcare issues.
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CHANCES TO STOP KILLER
By Sarah Ridley
KILLER cop Wayne Couzens committed a catalogue of sex offences before murdering Sarah Everard in one of the most shocking crimes of the century.
He should have been arrested as far back as 2015 — six years before killing Sarah in March 2021 — but Kent Police failed to investigate an indecent exposure incident, a watchdog ruled.
It meant Couzens was able to join the Civil Nuclear Constabulary and then the Met in 2018.
The rapist was then linked to two indecent exposures in November 2020 and February 2021, which police allegedly failed to investigate.
He pleaded guilty to these charges in 2023.
On the first occasion, he appeared naked in a rural lane in Deal, Kent, and exposed his genitals while on duty as a woman cycled past.
The victim reported the incident to Kent Police.
Couzens also exposed himself to staff at a McDonald's in Swanley, Kent, on February 14 and 27, 2021.
He paid by card and was driving his own car, but it was not properly investigated.
Just four days later, Couzens abducted Sarah before raping and strangling her.
He was jailed for life at the Old Bailey in September 2021.
In February last year, the Angiolini Inquiry ruled there were multiple missed chances to stop Couzens due to his history of offending.