Serving Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens has been charged with the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard.

The 48-year-old joined the force in 2018, having reportedly transferred from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, where he was deployed at Dungeness – one of the country’s most sensitive nuclear sites.

Couzens served in the Met’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command.

The armed unit is responsible for guarding the Parliamentary estate, including Downing Street and the Palace of Westminster, as well as embassies in London.

Couzens’ main job was uniformed patrol of diplomatic premises, according to the Met, who said he was not on duty at the time of 33-year-old Ms Everard’s disappearance.

He lives in Deal, Kent, with his wife and their two children.

According to reports, Couzens previously worked at his family’s garage in Dover, until it closed down after 48 years.

His brother, who also worked for the business, had already left to pursue a career in policing.

Couzens reportedly also worked in Kent as a special constable and was a member of the Army Reserve, serving in the 3rd battalion, the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, for two years from 2002.