WhatsApp messages in which Wayne Couzens joked about sexual assault with other Metropolitan Police officers before he kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah Everard have been revealed for the first time.

The former Metropolitan Police officer is serving a whole life sentence for the murder of Ms Everard, 33, in March 2021.

On Monday, he was sentenced to a further 19 months for three offences of indecent exposure.

Following the sentencing, messages exchanged between Couzens and six other Metropolitan Police officers have been released by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Warning – the below texts include racist comments and references to sexual assaults

The messages were sent between March 2019 and October 2019 in a WhatsApp group called “Bottle and Stoppers/Atkin’s Puppets” and were investigated by police when Couzens’s phone was seized after he was arrested for Ms Everard’s murder in March 2021.

They show Couzens, 50, and the other officers repeatedly discussing sexually assaulting women, including victims of domestic abuse, while also making racist remarks about areas of London as well as about colleagues.

The investigations resulted in criminal proceedings for two of the officers involved, Joel Borders and Jonathon Cobban, who were jailed for “grossly offensive messages” in November.

The four other serving or former officers also faced gross misconduct proceedings in relation to the messages, resulting in them being barred from policing.

Below are the published messages sent by Couzens:

Couzens: Messy one, lovely. Remember Forster, it’s got to be consensual!

PC Matthew Forster: They’ve only got to say yes once.

Messages replying to PC Jonathon Cobban describing his response to an unconscious woman who “drank herself into oblivion”.

Couzens: Did you [perform a sexual act] on her to see if she was ok?

Cobban: I considered it. But she was a right old lump.

Cobban: So I just r**** a bystander instead.

PC Joel Borders: You know when it’s getting near to the end of night shift in Hounslow because you can hear the call to prayer.

Couzens: You can add Peckham to that list. I was on VCTF [Violent Crime Task Force] the other shift in Peckham, another Somalia village!!!!

Couzens: Mate they aren’t gonna ditch you with your skill sets, unless you [perform a sexual act] a DV [domestic violence] victim!

Couzens: Oh, Jon in that case you’re probably f*****. [sic]

PC Jonathon Cobban: That’s alright, DV victims love it… that’s why they are repeat victims more than not.

Read more:
Wayne Couzens, Sarah Everard’s killer, sentenced to 19 months for indecent exposure
Two police officers face misconduct cases over handling of indecent exposure reports, IOPC says

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Sky News correspondent Becky Cotterill described the messages as “disgusting”.

“I’ve been looking through some of the messages. Some of them are just disgusting – racist, homophobic, and insulting to people with disabilities,” she said.

She added the remarks are also “insulting to women, to domestic abuse survivors”.

The IOPC did not investigate Couzens over the messages due to the criminal proceedings he was already facing relating to the kidnap, rape and murder of Ms Everard.

Related posts:

Roadmap on track: PM approves further easing of lockdown restrictions Lee Peacock charged with murders of man and woman in Westminster Face mask rules tightened, PCR tests for travellers and jabbed have to isolate if in contact with an Omicron case What are the COVID restrictions now – and when do new rules come into force? ‘Legend and icon’: Formula 1 team founder Sir Frank Williams dies Record year sees more than 28,300 people cross English Channel aboard small boats Cannabis users to avoid prosecution under plans from Sadiq Khan Senior Tory asks if move to sell Channel 4 is ‘revenge’ for Brexit coverage Green co-leader says perceptions party was previously too ‘middle class’ were ‘justified’ Poorest households see prices rise 24% faster than richest Two teenagers die and three other people injured in car crash as police appeal for witnesses Harry’s ‘self-destructive’ behaviour could be sign of PTSD – and he should be protected, says Army veteran