A Metropolitan Police officer has been arrested over the disappearance of Sarah Everard in south London.
Ms Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, went missing after leaving a friend’s house in Clapham at about 9pm on March 3.
The home page headline said 'officers' instead of 'officer'. This was a mistake and has been amended. Only one officer has been arrested as our main headline makes clear. The Herald apologises for the error and hopes this correction clarifies the matter.
Senior police say they have been left shocked and disturbed after the arrest of a serving officer in connection with the disappearance of Sarah Everard in south London last week.
Scotland Yard said in a statement released late on Tuesday night that a serving Metropolitan Police officer had been arrested at an address in Kent in connection with Ms Everard’s disappearance.
READ MORE: Sarah Everard disappearance: Arrested police officer ‘not on duty’ when she went missing
“He has been taken into custody at a London police station where he remains,” the statement said.
Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave said: “The arrest this evening is a serious and significant development. We will continue to work with all speed on this investigation but the fact that the arrested man is a serving Metropolitan Police officer is both shocking and deeply disturbing.
“I understand there will be significant public concern but it is essential that the investigative team are given the time and space to continue their work.”
The Met said a woman had also been arrested at the same location on suspicion of assisting an offender.
A man has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of Sarah Everard.
This is a significant development but our investigation continues.
We repeat our appeal for anyone with information to speak to detectives on 0208 785 8244. https://t.co/7586mGGLHv
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) March 9, 2021
“She has also been taken into custody at a London police station,” the police statement said.
“The Directorate of Professional Standards is aware. Sarah’s family has been kept updated of these developments.”
Detective Chief Inspector Katherine Goodwin said: “This is a significant development in our inquiry. This is a fast-moving investigation and we are doing everything we can to find Sarah.
“We have seen an overwhelming response from the public and I repeat my request for anyone with information that may be relevant to come forward, no matter how insignificant it may seem.”
The search for Ms Everard included Mount Pond on Clapham Common (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)
Ms Everard is thought to have walked through Clapham Common towards her house in Brixton – a journey which should have taken around 50 minutes.
She was last captured on a doorbell camera walking along the A205 Poynders Road towards Tulse Hill at around 9.30pm.
On Tuesday evening, police put up a cordon outside a block of flats near where the footage was recorded.
The search was focused on the Poynders Court housing complex on Poynders Road, and forensics officers could be seen examining the area.
Sniffer dogs were also used to search the nearby Oaklands Estate and gardens in surrounding streets, while other officers were lifting covers and searching drains along the A205.
The Met said it had received more than 120 calls from the public and had visited 750 homes in the area as part of the investigation.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel