Ministers back stripping police pension from serial rapist David Carrick

(Ministers have backed efforts to strip serial rapist David Carrick of his pension from the Metropolitan Police.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has vowed to seek the forfeiture of the state-funded pension, reported to be £22,000 a year, after Carrick admitted 49 offences against a dozen women.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she supports the move and will consider Mr Khan’s application, arguing Carrick “should never have been allowed to remain as an officer for so long”.

Robert Jenrick, a minister in her department, said the subsequently sacked officer could be stripped of his pension because the offending was linked to his position in the capital’s police force.

The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (Mopac) will submit a forfeiture request to Ms Braverman after Carrick’s sentencing next month.

Ms Braverman said: “David Carrick’s sickening crimes are a stain on the police and he should never have been allowed to remain as an officer for so long.

“I support the Mayor’s Office in pursuing the forfeiture of his pension. I will consider any application for a forfeiture certificate from Mopac.”

Pensions can only be blocked if the offending has been carried out in connection to their police service.

He said: “We know that David Carrick used the fact he was a police officer as part of his offending, in particular to exercise even greater control and coercion over his victims and to instill fear in them about what might happen if they came forward to report his crimes.

“Accordingly, we are working closely with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime who will be making an application to the Home Secretary for pension forfeiture in this case.”

Mr Jenrick told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “There are very strong arguments for doing so as although some of this activity may have occurred outside of David Carrick’s exact role, it was linked to it.”

He added on Sky News: “This is one of the most egregious cases of police misconduct in the history of the Met, perhaps in the history of British policing. This disgusting individual should not benefit from his years serving in the Metropolitan Police.”

Home Office guidance states pension forfeiture can only be applied for when an officer has a conviction “committed in connection with their service as a member of a police force” and the offence has been certified by the Home Secretary as “liable to lead to a serious loss of confidence in the public service” or “gravely injurious to the interests of the state”.

Such applications are usually made after a police officer has committed a crime while on duty.

A spokesman for Mr Khan said: “The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime will pursue pension forfeiture through an application to the Home Secretary as it is clear that Pc Carrick committed offences in connection with his service as a member of a police force.”

Court decisions have in the past determined an officer’s pension can only be forfeited by up to 65% – the contributions that have been made by the police force, and not their own contributions.

Carrick was formally dismissed from the Met on Tuesday for gross misconduct after pleading guilty to a total of 49 offences, including 24 counts of rape, against 12 women between 2003 and 2020.

He joined the force in 2001 before becoming an armed officer in the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection unit in 2009.