A Green Party Peer in the UK’s House of Lords has called for a 6 pm curfew for all men following the disappearance of London woman Sarah Everard.
Police have arrested a fellow serving officer — named in the media as 48-year-old Wayne Couzens — on suspicion of kidnap and murder in connection with the disappearance of the 33-year-old marketing executive who went missing while walking home from a friend’s house in London on March 3rd.
Human remains have been found in woodland near Ashford, Kent, but police have not yet identified them, according to The Times.
In condemning all men as potential predators, the Green Party’s Jenny Jones, Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb, called for a “curfew for men on the streets after 6 pm” in the House of Lords on Thursday during a debate on domestic abuse, according to the Metro.
“In the week that Sarah Everard was abducted and, we suppose, killed — because remains have been found in a woodland in Kent — I argue that, at the next opportunity for any Bill that is appropriate, I might put in an amendment to create a curfew for men on the streets after 6 pm.
“I feel this would make women a lot safer, and discrimination of all kinds would be lessened,” Baronness Jones said.
The Green Party peer was condemned on social media, with social commentator Peter Lloyd writing: “MP exploits appalling case of missing woman to suggest a 6 pm curfew for all men.”
Mr Lloyd added: “Please don’t exploit Sarah Everard’s terrible disappearance to score political points. Her family/loved ones have got enough to deal with.”
Conservative campaign Calvin Robinson remarked that the statement typifies “when cancel culture and identity politics combine”, adding: “Baroness Jones wants to cancel men in order to end discrimination. Let that one sink in…”
Miss Everard had been walking home to Brixton from her friend’s house near Clapham Common on the night of Wednesday, March 3rd, which is an estimated 50-minute walk. She was spotted by a doorbell camera walking along Poynders Road at about 9:30 pm.
Police arrested Couzens, a father of two, on Tuesday at his home in the coastal Kent town of Deal. The human remains were reportedly found 30 miles away from where Couzens lives. A woman has also been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Mr Couzens is reportedly an armed officer in the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command at Westminster, which is responsible for guarding sites such as Parliament and Downing Street.
Sources told The Times that he was primarily stationed outside of embassies as a uniformed officer. He has also been deployed to guard other sensitive sites, including Dungeness nuclear power plant in Kent.
Couzens was taken to hospital on Thursday after suffering head injuries. Police said he sustained the injury while alone in his cell, the BBC reported.
Metropolitan Commissioner Cressida Dick confirmed the discovery of the remains on Wednesday evening, saying: “As you can imagine, at this early stage we are not able to confirm any identity and indeed this may take us some time.”
Commissioner Dick continued: “The news today that it was a Metropolitan Police officer arrested on suspicion of Sarah’s murder has sent waves of shock and anger through the public and through the whole of the Met.
“I speak on behalf of all my colleagues in the Met when I say we are utterly appalled at this dreadful news. Our job is to patrol the streets and to protect people.”
Adding: “I know Londoners will want to know that it is thankfully incredibly rare for a woman to be abducted from our streets.
“But I completely understand that despite this, women in London and the wider public — particularly those in the area where Sarah went missing — will be worried and may well be feeling scared.
“You should expect to see continued high levels of police patrols in that area as well as very significant investigative activity.
“Again my thoughts are with Sarah, her family and her loved ones.”
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