Ministers have been unable to strip Wayne Couzens of his pension

Ministers have been unable to strip Wayne Couzens, the former police officer who raped and murdered Sarah Everard, of part of his public sector pension and are considering introducing legislation if required, Sky News can reveal.

In March 2021, when he was a serving Metropolitan Police officer, Couzens used his police warrant to lure Sarah Everard into a fake arrest while she was walking home from a friend's house in south London, during the COVID-19 pandemic. He later raped and murdered her.

In 2023, London's mayor Sadiq Khan successfully applied to the home secretary to have any money that Couzens could have earned in pension payments while serving at the Metropolitan police, forfeited. It's understood to be so small that it would be a negligible amount because of the short length of service there.

Mr Khan, who is also the city's police and crime commissioner, at the time also believed Couzens had "approximately seven years' pension service" with the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC), between 2011 and 2018, according to a letter shared with Sky News. This is a special force which guards nuclear facilities and is overseen by the UK Atomic Energy Authority, but is the ultimate responsibility of the energy secretary.

It is not like other forces, which fall under the home secretary. In a letter from 2023 to the then energy secretary, Grant Shapps, and shared with Sky News, Mr Khan said the CNC portion of Couzens' pension "sits outside the normal police pension regulations".

Freedom of information data obtained by Sky News shows there were no pension forfeitures from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary between 2020 and September 2025. It is understood that remains the case.

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson told Sky News they are "absolutely determined that Wayne Couzens does not receive a Civil Nuclear Constabulary pension". Sky News understands there is an ongoing and complex legal process, and that the government is considering legislation, if required, in order to resolve it.

The CNC told Sky News that when Couzens was convicted, they made a recommendation to the employing force that he should lose his pension benefits, but that they have no decision-making powers. "After committing such heinous crimes, Wayne Couzens should not receive a penny in taxpayer-funded pension.

Londoners would be furious if he did," Sadiq Khan told Sky News. "Every possible step should be taken to ensure that Wayne Couzens does not receive his Civil Nuclear Constabulary pension.