Yard backs move to strip him of his £22,000-a-year pension

SCOTLAND Yard last night said it would support attempts to stop David Carrick receiving his state-funded pension when he is released from prison.

Ministers have already backed efforts to seek the forfeiture of the rapist constable’s employer contributions after the Daily Mail revealed he could receive £22,000 a year in retirement.

And London Mayor Sadiq Khan has pledged to seek forfeiture after the 48year-old is sentenced next month.

The issue is thought to be complicated by the fact that – although Carrick abused his position and his police-issue handcuffs, to facilitate his offending – his crimes were not committed while on duty. But a Met spokesman said: ‘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 instil 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 which will be making an application to the Home Secretary for pension forfeiture in this case.’

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she supported the move and confirmed that she would consider any application made by the mayor’s team.

Seeking forfeiture of a convicted officer’s pension is a drawn-out process. Mr Khan needs to submit a case to the Home Secretary who then must certify whether the offending had led to a serious loss of confidence in policing.

Carrick would be allowed to make representations and offer mitigating circumstances, such as whether the income would be needed for dependent relatives.

Forfeiture is usually limited to the most serious circumstances, such as a breach of national security. It has happened only 42 times over the past five years.