David Carrick: More shocking cases may follow, Braverman warnson January 17, 2023 at 4:31 pm

More shocking cases involving police officers may emerge, the home secretary warns after Met officer David Carrick admitted he was a serial rapist.

Suella Braverman urged police forces to “double down” on their efforts to root out corrupt officers and reform police vetting processes.

But Labour said ministers had failed to heed repeated calls for reform.

Carrick was sacked from the force after admitting to dozens of rape and sexual offences against 12 women over decades.

The 48-year-old, who was an armed officer in the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, used his role to instil fear in his victims.

He admitted four counts of rape, false imprisonment and indecent assault relating to a 40-year-old woman in 2003, at Southwark Crown Court on Monday.

Carrick had already pleaded guilty to 43 charges, including 20 counts of rape, in December.

Ms Braverman told MPs that Monday was a “dark day” for British policing and the Metropolitan Police.

“It is intolerable for them [the victims] to have suffered as they have,” she said, in a statement to the House of Commons after his formal dismissal.

“They were manipulated and isolated and subjected to horrific abuse.

“For anyone to have gone through such torment is harrowing, but for it to have happened at the hands of someone they entrusted to keep people safe is almost beyond comprehension,” she added.

She said she had been “encouraged” by the work Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley had already undertaken to “root out officers not fit to wear the badge” before warning more cases could soon emerge.

“It is vital that the Metropolitan Police and other forces double down on their efforts to root out corrupt officers. This may mean more shocking cases come to light in the short-term,” she said.

The home secretary announced an internal review into police dismissals to make sure the system was fair and effective at removing officers not fit to serve.

“Bureaucracy and process appear to have prevailed over ethics and common sense,” she said.

She added that the case would now also be considered in the Angiolini Inquiry, which was set up to look into the abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by Wayne Couzens.

But Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper accused the government of failing to address “appalling failures in the police vetting and misconduct processes”.

“Her statement is very weak and it shows a serious lack of leadership on something that is so grave and affects confidence in policing as well as serious crimes,” she added.

Earlier, Sir Mark Rowley apologised for the failings of the Met Police and said opportunities to remove Carrick from policing were missed.

“We have failed. And I’m sorry. He should not have been a police officer,” he said.

In an interview with Good Morning Britain, he admitted he could not promise women that Met Police officers to whom they report crimes were not themselves a sex offender.

He said most of his officers were “fantastic” but warned there were some who should not be in the Met he had to “identify and get rid of”.

He has previously said the force is investigating 1,000 sexual and domestic abuse claims involving about 800 of its officers.