Police investigating Leah Croucher disappearance looked for Milton Keynes link in the case of killer cop Wayne Couzens in Milton Keynes

Police investigating the disappearance of Leah Croucher have spoken to the Metropolitan police team to rule out any possible links with convicted killer Wayne Couzens and the Sarah Everard case.

But they say there is nothing in the Met investigation to support that Couzens was connected to Leah on the day she vanished.

Senior Investigating Officer DCI Andy Howard said: "We have no plans to speak to Couzens, unless we receive information in the future that indicates this may be a line of enquiry.

"Leah’s family are aware of our liaison with the Met Police and we have updated them accordingly."

Met police officer Couzens is this week beginning a whole life sentence. The depraved 48-year-old preyed on Sarah Everard as she walked home from a friend's house, stopping her in the street and falsely arrested her for breaching Covid guidelines.

The whole kidnapping took less than five minutes. He handcuffed her and put her in his car then drove to a remote area where he raped and strangled her before burning her body.

Detectives are now investigating whether Couzens was responsible for other offences. Criminologists say his actions were so slick on the day he kidnapped Sarah that he may have committed previous crimes.

They claim the confidence in which Couzens carried out the abduction shows he had "done it before". And the way he disposed of Miss Everard's body signals "experienced behaviour", they believe.

Couzens was a Diplomatic Protection Officer in the Met, and his primary role was to patrol diplomatic premises, such as foreign embassies.

Hanslope Park in MK is owned by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and is also home to Her Majesty's Government Communications Centre.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development department also leases four floors in Northgate House, Milton Keynes

Couzens' role also involved guarding parliamentary premises. The country home of all UK prime ministers is at Chequers in the village of Ellesborough, halfway between Princes Risborough and Wendover. This is 26 miles away from Milton Keynes, where Leah disappeared on February 15 2019.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We continue to make enquiries to establish whether he has been involved in other criminal offences. As these investigations are ongoing we are unable to go into further detail although, at this time, we have not identified anything that is of the same level of seriousness as the crimes he has been sentenced for.

'We are keen to hear from anyone who may have information about any criminality they believe Couzens was involved in.'

Meanwhile Thames Valley officers are continuing to investigate the circumstances of Leah’s disappearance and there is a £20,000 reward for any information that solves the heartbreaking case.

Anyone who knows anything should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.