Killer Wayne Couzens was taken to hospital for a back operation that is estimated to have cost taxpayers £17,000.
Couzens, 52, who is serving a whole life sentence for the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard in 2021, is said to have been “moaning” to prison officers at HMP Frankland in Durham about back pain.
He reportedly spent several days in hospital where he underwent a lumbar procedure — commonly known as a spinal tap — and was kept in a private room away from other patients, The Sun reports.
Couzens’ swift treatment has raised concerns he may have jumped the queue ahead of NHS patients, who typically face an 18-week wait for the procedure.
Labour 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.”
Tory shadow Justice Minister Robert Jenrick echoed the concerns, calling Couzens “one of the most despicable criminals in our jails” who “should not be given any special treatment.”
Couzens was a serving Met Police constable when he used his badge and uniform to deceive 33-year-old Sarah Everard into a false arrest before killing her in 2021.
While the precise hospital has not been confirmed, the nearest facility equipped to carry out the procedure is the University Hospital of North Durham.
Most spinal tap operations involve doctors sterilising an area of the patient’s back before administering a local anaesthetic and using a syringe to remove excess fluid.
A source told The Sun the operation was not a medical emergency but was carried out to relieve Couzens’ discomfort.
“He was constantly moaning in jail about his back pain,” they said. “People are angry at how much effort was made to accommodate him.
“The security operation to get him to and from the hospital would have easily cost more than £10,000. He was taken straight from his cell into a Category A van, which is bulletproof, 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.”
