Police have confirmed they are looking into other crimes killer Wayne Couzens might have been involved in.

And while the force said "nothing of the same level of seriousness" as the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard had yet been identified it did not comment of whether any more minor offences had come to light.

And they said they are keen to hear from anyone who might have information.

Meanwhile the force has admitted a vetting process undertaken when he joined in 2018 failed to flag up the fact his car was linked to an allegation of indecent exposure made in Kent three years earlier.

Former Met Police officer Couzens was today jailed for a whole life term for the murder of 33-year-old Sarah, who was walking home from a friend's house when she was snatched on March 3 this year.

He is the first police officer to receive such a sentence.

Married father-of-two Couzens, from Deal, was off duty when he 'arrested' Sarah for alleged Covid breaches in south London, before handcuffing her and driving her to Kent in a hire car.

He stopped in Dover to move marketing executive Sarah into his own car, and then drove to a secluded area to rape and kill her.

He used his police belt to strangle Sarah.

He later dumped Sarah in woodland in Ashford, returning over the next few days to burn her body and then hide her remains in a pond.

Before his arrest on March 9 he had calmly conducted routine tasks such as phoning the vets and going on a day trip with his family close to where he had left Sarah.

This chain of events was revealed over the last two days at the Old Bailey, ending today when Lord Justice Fulford handed out a rare whole-life tariff, meaning Couzens, 48, will die in prison.

In a statement, Metropolitan Police commissioner Cressida Dick said she was "absolutely sickened" by Couzens' crimes, adding: "This man has brought shame on the Met. We have been rocked."

The force has now revealed it is making inquiries to establish whether Couzens, who was sacked after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing, has been involved in other criminal offences.

The Met says that while these investigations are ongoing, they are yet to identify anything "that is of the same level of seriousness".

The full statement from Met Police reads: "As you would expect we continue to make inquiries to establish whether he has been involved in other criminal offences.

"As these investigations are ongoing we are unable to go into further detail although, at this time, we have not identified anything that is of the same level of seriousness as the crimes he has been sentenced for.

"We are keen to hear from anyone who may have information about any criminality they believe Couzens was involved in."

The judge today said Couzens had "irretrievably damaged the lives of Sarah Everard’s family and friends" and said he betrayed his own wife and children with his actions.

The court had heard colleagues knew Couzens was interested in "violent pornography", while co-workers at a former force reportedly dubbed him 'The Rapist'.

The police watchdog continues to investigate whether allegations of exposure made against Couzens following an incident in a Kent car park 2015 and at a McDonald's drive-thru in the north of the county days before Sarah went missing were properly investigated.

Tonight the Met released a lengthy statement in response to Couzens' horrific crimes and the criticism directed at the force.

Couzens, a former Kent Police and Civil Nuclear Constabulary officer, joined the force in 2018 and worked in Bromley before being deployed as an armed diplomatic protection officer, guarding embassies.

The Met confirmed he passed vetting and had no convictions or misconduct proceedings when he joined the force, but checks failed to flag up a car he was the registered keeper of was linked to the 2015 exposure allegation.

It added had that been flagged up due to Kent Police taking no action he would have still passed vetting.

It added the progress of the McDonald's investigation was voluntarily referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct and is subject to an investigation by them. It also remains the subject of a live criminal inquiry.

In response to concerns regarding officers stopping lone women it said: "It is unusual for a single plain clothes police officer to engage with anyone in London. If that does happen, and it may do for various reasons, in instances where the officer is seeking to arrest you, you should then expect to see other officers arrive shortly afterwards.

"However, if that doesn’t happen and you do find yourself in an interaction with a sole police officer and you are on your own, it is entirely reasonable for you to seek further reassurance of that officer’s identity and intentions.

"Our advice is to ask some very searching questions of that officer: Where are your colleagues? Where have you come from? Why are you here? Exactly why are you stopping or talking to me?

"Try to seek some independent verification of what they say, if they have a radio ask to hear the voice of the operator, even ask to speak through the radio to the operator to say who you are and for them to verify you are with a genuine officer, acting legitimately.

"All officers will, of course, know about this case and will be expecting in an interaction like that - rare as it may be - that members of the public may be understandably concerned and more distrusting than they previously would have been, and should and will expect to be asked more questions.

"If after all of that you feel in real and imminent danger and you do not believe the officer is who they say they are, for whatever reason, then I would say you must seek assistance - shouting out to a passer-by, running into a house, knocking on a door, waving a bus down or if you are in the position to do so calling 999."

The force said it "recognised [his offences] are part of a much bigger and troubling picture", referencing the murders of sisters Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry and the recent killing of teacher Sabina Nessa.

It said it has taken several steps to tackle violence against women.

It added: "We expect the best of our officers and when they fall below our standards they undermine the public’s trust in us.

"Couzens’ crimes are the most extreme example of this betrayal. They have been shattering for everybody and of course people have questions about the integrity of officers. "

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