The suspected kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard has sparked anger over the safety of women on the UK’s streets.
A serving Metropolitan Police officer, aged in his 40s, is in custody as human remains were found in the search for the 33-year-old marketing executive who vanished last week.
On the day of Ms Everard’s disappearance, he was reportedly working a 2pm to 8pm relief shift at the US Embassy in Nine Elms, south-west London, around three miles from where she was last seen.
According to unconfirmed reports, detectives are investigating whether he might have used his warrant card to entice Ms Everard towards his car before snatching her.
The officer, who is in the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, was held on Tuesday night on suspicion of kidnap before being further arrested the following day on suspicion of murder and a separate allegation of indecent exposure.
A woman in her 30s has been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Police have removed vehicles from outside a house being searched in Deal, Kent, where the officer is believed to have lived with his wife and two children.
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Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said on Wednesday night that human remains – which have not yet been identified – had been found in an area of woodland in Ashford, Kent, by detectives investigating Ms Everard’s disappearance.
The events have prompted an outpouring of shock and anger as women across the country shared their own experiences of feeling unsafe.
Many women have shared tips on how to stay safe, including how to use the Emergency SOS feature on phones.
What is the Emergency SOS feature on iPhones?
The Emergency SOS feature allows you to call for help quickly and easily, as well as alert your emergency contacts.
When you make a call with SOS, your iPhone will call the local emergency number automatically.
You can also add emergency contacts.
After an emergency call has finished, your iPhone can alert your emergency contacts with a text message, although you can choose to cancel this option.
Your iPhone sends them your current location, and, for a period of time when you have entered SOS mode, it sends updates to your emergency contacts when your location changes.
How do I set up the Emergency SOS feature for iPhone?
Here's how to make the call on iPhone 8 or later:
Press and hold the side button and one of the Volume buttons until the Emergency SOS slider appears.
Drag the Emergency SOS slider to call emergency services. If you continue to hold down the side button and Volume button, instead of dragging the slider, a countdown will start and an alert will sound. If you hold down the buttons until the countdown has finished, your iPhone will automatically call the emergency services.
Here's how to make the call on iPhone 7 or earlier:
Rapidly press the side (or top) button five times. The Emergency SOS slider will appear. (In India, you only need to press the button three times, then your iPhone will call emergency services automatically.)
Drag the Emergency SOS slider to call emergency services.
How do I set up the Emergency SOS feature for Android?
This process varies slightly from that of the iPhone, but it is still possible.
Search for 'SOS messages' in your settings or check the 'advanced features' section.
Select ‘send SOS messages’ to activate it and accept the terms and conditions.
Your phone will then prompt you to add emergency contacts.
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