Killer cop Wayne Couzens was secretly taken to hospital for a back operation – reportedly costing the taxpayer £17,000.
Former Met Police officer Couzens, who lived in Deal before his arrest four years ago, was jailed for life after he raped and murdered Sarah Everard.
The 52-year-old used his powers as a police officer to falsely arrest the 33-year-old before kidnapping her in Clapham Common, south-west London, as she walked home from a friend’s house in Brixton during the lockdown of 2021.
He then took her to woodland near Ashford, where he murdered her and dumped her body.
Now, The Sun has reported the former policeman’s health woes have cost the taxpayer at least £17,000 as he was whisked away for a lumbar puncture earlier this month.
Also known as a spinal tap, the procedure usually has an 18-week waiting time on the NHS and has sparked fears that the killer was prioritised ahead of hundreds of innocent people also waiting to be seen.
It is understood the cost of getting him in and out of HMP Frankland in Durham, where he is being held, was in the region of £10,000 alone – while the procedure can cost up to £7,000.
It is reported he had a large security team and was taken to hospital in a bullet-proof van.
Conservative shadow Justice Minister Robert Jenrick said: “Wayne Couzens is one of the most despicable criminals in our jails and a traitor to the police uniform he wore.
“He should not be given any special treatment in jail. He’s in prison as punishment for his terrible crimes — nobody should forget that.”
Labour’s North Durham MP Luke Akehurst said: “I would be disgusted if it turns out that this vile rapist and murderer was able to jump the queue in front of decent law-abiding people to get his treatment.
“The cost of the security surrounding his time in hospital is an appalling waste of public money.”
A typical lumbar procedure sees medics sterilise the patient’s back before delivering a local anaesthetic.
They then drain fluid with a syringe.
Couzens is believed to have spent several days in the University Hospital of North Durham before being driven three miles back to the Category A prison’s healthcare unit.
In his time at HMP Frankland in Durham, he has been the victim of targeted attacks and has struck up a friendship with Kent “Morgue Monster” David Fuller.
The jail is home to around 800 men, including some of Britain’s worst killers such as Soham murderer Ian Huntley, serial killer and rapist Levi Bellfield, soldier Lee Rigby’s murderer Michael Adebolajo, and Urfan Sharif, who killed his own 10-year-old daughter, Sara.
