The security and medical costs of an operation for the ex-police officer responsible for the murder of Sarah Everard totalled an estimated £17,000.
Couzens, 52, was transported from HMP Frankland to an NHS hospital to undergo a lumbar procedure. The cost of transporting Couzens, who required tight security, was estimated to be £10,000, while the procedure costs the NHS around £7,000.
Couzens was escorted from the prison in a bulletproof van with a high-security escort.
Labour's MP for North Durham, Luke Akehurst, raised concerns that the convicted rapist and murderer has been able to skip the waiting list for the procedure, which normally has an 18-week NHS waiting time.
Mr Akehurst told The Sun newspaper: “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 MP added: “The cost of the security surrounding his time in hospital is an appalling waste of public money.”
Robert Jenrick, the shadow Justice Minister, 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.”
Couzens is believed to have spent three days in hospital following the procedure before being transported back to the high-security prisons's healthcare unit.
A source told The Sun that the operation was not an emergency and was carried out “to make him comfortable”.
They said: “People are angry at how he was treated — and how much effort the authorities went to, as well as how much it cost.“
"Couzens is constantly moaning in jail and had been complaining about back pain so was assessed in healthcare at the prison.“
"The security operation to get him to and from the hospital would have easily run to more than £10,000.“
"He was taken straight from his cell into a Category A van, which is bullet-proof with a custody manager and at least four prison officers."
“While he was at the hospital, armed police would have been on guard. Couzens was classed as a ‘high-risk escort’ — not because he poses a danger but because of the danger to him from the public."
“He is recognisable and reviled so they do not take chances.“
"He would have been treated on a ward — but in his own room — to keep him away from people. The prison and NHS have a duty of care to him, like they do with everyone.“
"But this was apparently not even an emergency procedure and was basically done to relieve pressure on him and make him comfortable.”
Ex-prison governor Vanessa Frake said: “Getting prisoners to operations like this is all down to risk. It would have taken a while to plan with the police and the hospital, assessing not only his safety, but the safety of prison staff, healthcare staff, other patients and the public."
“It’s not an unusual thing for prisoners to go out to hospital. This is more unusual because he is who he is, and that makes it much more difficult not only for the prison staff but the hospital staff as well.“
"I understand people’s concerns about it. But more than that, I think about Sarah Everard’s family and how they must be feeling.”
Sources told The Sun Couzens was “reluctant” to move from the jail’s hospital as he fears being attacked.
Former Met detective Peter Bleksley said: “Couzens should be at the very bottom of the pecking order when it comes to NHS treatment."
“It sticks in the craw when any killer like him is effectively whisked to the front of the queue. If anybody has had their procedures cancelled or even delayed so he can be treated, it is a scandal and an insult to the memory of Sarah.”
Wayne Couzens was arrested in 2021 following the abduction, rape, and murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard as she walked home from a friend's house near Clapham Common, London. Couzens, a former Metropolitan Police officer, stopped Ms Everard and identified himself as a police officer before handcuffing her and driving her to a rural area in Kent.
The case sparked public outrage and widespread protests. An inquiry found that police forces had failed at multiple opportunities to recognise red flags in Couzens' behaviour that signalled his unsuitability for the role of police officer, including multiple incidents where Couzens was reported to police for indecent exposure.
