Nearly £500k paid to suspended and sacked cops in Met Police unit where Wayne Couzens worked

NEARLY half-a-million pounds has been paid to suspended and sacked cops in the shamed Met Police unit where monsters Wayne Couzens and David Carrick worked.

Twelve officers have been suspended and 11 sacked from the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command since January 2020.

They got a ­combined £462,355.84 in ­salary but nothing was reclaimed after any dismissals.

Stats released under Freedom of Information show the most expensive year was 2023/2024, when £185,352.83 was paid out.

William Yarwood, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will be shocked to see sacked and suspended police still receiving their salaries.

“As these costs continue to rise, more money will be taken away from budgets for frontline police officers to combat crime.

“The government needs to clamp down on this loophole.”

Sex beast Couzens got whole-life jail for kidnap, rape and murder.

Carrick, who was reported to police a day after Couzens was sentenced in October that year, was also jailed for life after admitting 28 rapes between 2002 and 2021.

A Met spokesperson said: “Securing and maintaining the trust of the community is integral to the principle of policing by consent and to continue to do so, the MPS recognises that its staff must act with professionalism and integrity.

“The MPS treats each occasion when an allegation is made about the conduct of its staff extremely seriously and will fully investigate each incident to determine whether the conduct of that member of staff has breached the standards of professional behaviour.

“Where the conduct of staff is proven to have fallen below the standards of behaviour expected, the MPS will take robust action to ensure that its staff are held to account and that lessons are learnt from each case.”