Killer cop Wayne Couzens was secretly taken out of prison for an NHS operation costing British taxpayers an estimated £17k. Couzens who will die behind bars is currently serving a whole life order in HMP Frankland, Durham, for kidnapping, raping and murdering Sarah Everard in 2021.

The former Met Police Officer, 52, was secretly whisked to hospital for a back operation, spending several days away from the category A prison which houses some of Britain's most notorious offenders. The killer policeman was escorted from HMP Frankland in a bullet-proof van under a high-security escort and required intensive security during his stay at a NHS hospital. Couzens, who had the op earlier this month, underwent a lumbar procedure, also known as a spinal tap.

The procedure currently has an 18-week waiting time on the NHS, if a patient waits longer than this it is considered a "breach" of the waiting time target. It is estimated the cost of getting him out of the high security prison was £10,000 whilst the procedure can cost up to £7,000.

The closest unit offering a lumbar procedure is the University Hospital of North Durham which is located three miles away.

According to The Sun, a source told the paper how the operation was not an emergency and was simply done to make the killer feel "comfortable" as Couzens is repeatedly moaning about "back pain".

The source said: "Couzens is constantly moaning in jail and had been complaining about back pain so was assessed in healthcare at the prison.

"The security operation to get him to and from the hospital would have easily run to more than £10,000."

"But this was apparently not even an emergency procedure and was basically done to relieve pressure on him and make him comfortable."

News of the treatment on one of the UK's most notorious prisoners has been slammed as disgrace and a waste of taxpayers money.

Labour's 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 added: "Wayne Couzens is one of the most despicable criminals in our jails and a traitor to the police uniform he wore.

"He should not be given any special treatment in jail. He's in prison as punishment for his terrible crimes - nobody should forget that."