A Metropolitan Police officer has been dismissed for accessing confidential files related to the Sarah Everard murder case without authorization. The officer, PC Myles McHugh, was found to have committed gross misconduct by viewing the files without a valid reason, according to a tribunal.
The tribunal also found that former Detective Constable Hannah Rebbeck and Sergeant Mark Harper had accessed the confidential files without proper justification. Ms. Rebbeck, who had already resigned, would have been dismissed if she had still been serving, while Sgt. Harper received a final written warning lasting three years.
These unauthorized accesses occurred between March 5 and March 15, 2021, shortly after Sarah Everard’s disappearance. Wayne Couzens, a serving Metropolitan Police officer who was off-duty at the time, kidnapped Ms. Everard in Clapham on March 3, 2021. He falsely arrested her for breaking lockdown restrictions, then raped and murdered her.
The panel learned that PC McHugh accessed the information while off duty and for an extended period, while former DC Rebbeck repeatedly accessed sensitive data without any relevance to her duties. Detective Constable Tyrone Ward, former Inspector Akinwale Ajose-Adeogun, and former Detective Sergeant Robert Butters also faced the same misconduct hearing.
However, the panel concluded that they had legitimate reasons for accessing the information and did not violate the standards of police professional behavior. Another officer, PC Clare Tett, is set to face a separate gross misconduct hearing.
Following Sarah Everard’s murder, a task force from the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards conducted an audit of individuals who had accessed files related to her case. Initially, 104 officers and staff members were identified as potentially accessing files without a valid policing purpose. Most of them received disciplinary actions such as written warnings and training sessions on reflective practice.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy expressed sympathy for Sarah Everard’s family and friends, apologizing for any additional distress caused by the unauthorized file accesses. He emphasized that police systems should only be accessed for legitimate policing purposes.
The Met confirmed that none of the officers or staff involved had direct participation in the criminal investigation of Ms. Everard’s murder. There was also no evidence of inappropriate sharing of information among individuals, according to the Met.
DAC Cundy stated that the majority of those who accessed information inappropriately did so out of curiosity and showed remorse when confronted. They acknowledged their error in judgment, apologized, and were willing to engage in training sessions to improve their behavior.
