A British police officer was given a whole life prison sentence on Thursday for the murder of Sarah Everard after abducting her as she was walking home, in a case that shocked the country and sparked protests over male violence against women.

Wayne Couzens, 48, a serving London officer who guarded diplomatic premises, had pleaded guilty to murder, rape and kidnap. His whole life sentence at London’s Old Bailey court means he has no chance of parole.

He abducted Everard, 33, into a hire car as she walked home from a friend’s house in south London on March 3 and her