British police revealed on Friday that a body found in Kent woodland is missing Sarah Everard, whose disappearance last week sparked anger and fears among women about their safety.
The marketing executive went missing while walking home from a friend's house in south London last Wednesday. Police arrested a serving officer on suspicion of her kidnap and murder.
Detectives discovered a body 80 kilometres away in Kent woodland two days ago and London Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave confirmed that it was the missing 33-year-old.
"I know that the public feel hurt and angry about what has happened, and those are sentiments that I share personally," Mr Ephgrave said outside the London police headquarters.
"I also recognise the wider concerns that are being raised quite rightly about the safety of women in public spaces in London and also elsewhere in the country."
Detectives on Thursday were given extra time to question the arrested officer, who is in his 40s and whose job is to guard diplomatic buildings.
A woman in her 30s, understood to be his partner, was released on police bail having been detained on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Scotland Yard is facing an investigation by the police watchdog into its handling of an allegation of indecent exposure involving the suspect.
The Independent Office of Police Conduct is to investigate whether officers responded appropriately after receiving a report that a man exposed himself at a fast-food restaurant in south London on February 28.
That was three days before Everard, 33, went missing.
“The IOPC’s investigation follows a conduct referral from the Metropolitan Police Service in relation to two officers, received last night [Wednesday], which is linked to four other referrals," the watchdog said.
“They are all connected to the arrest of a serving MPS officer on suspicion of kidnap, murder and a separate allegation of indecent exposure.”
The watchdog is also assessing a referral relating to police action after Everard was reported missing, and another in relation to the suspect in her kidnap being taken to hospital.
The arrested officer, who is in the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, was treated for a head injury sustained while in custody on Thursday.
He was later discharged and returned to the police station where he is being held.
The Met later said he sustained the injury while alone in his cell and received immediate first aid.
On Thursday night, Everard’s family released a statement describing her as a “shining example to us all”, and said she had “brought so much joy to our lives”.
“Our beautiful daughter Sarah was taken from us and we are appealing for any information that will help to solve this terrible crime," they said.
“Sarah was bright and beautiful – a wonderful daughter and sister. She was kind and thoughtful, caring and dependable.
"She always put others first and had the most amazing sense of humour.
“She was strong and principled and a shining example to us all. We are very proud of her and she brought so much joy to our lives.
“We would like to thank our friends and family for all their support during this awful time and we would especially like to thank Sarah’s friends, who are working tirelessly to help.”
Everard's family thanked the police and pleaded for people with further information to come forward.
“No piece of information is too insignificant,” they said.
The events since Everard's disappearance prompted an outpouring of shock and anger as women across the country shared their own experiences of feeling unsafe.
A vigil was due to take place at Clapham Common bandstand in south London on Saturday, but organisers are now seeking legal action after claiming the Metropolitan Police reversed their position on allowing the event to go ahead.
UK Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “Every woman should feel safe to walk our streets without fear of harassment or violence."
Everard is thought to have walked through Clapham Common towards her house in Brixton – a journey that should have taken about 50 minutes.
She was last seen on a doorbell camera walking along the A205 Poynders Road towards Tulse Hill about 9.30pm.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The biog
From: Ras Al Khaimah
Age: 50
Profession: Electronic engineer, worked with Etisalat for the past 20 years
Hobbies: 'Anything that involves exploration, hunting, fishing, mountaineering, the sea, hiking, scuba diving, and adventure sports'
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%3Cp%3EFounder%3A%20Hani%20Abu%20Ghazaleh%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20with%20an%20office%20in%20Montreal%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%202018%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Virtual%20Reality%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20raised%3A%20%241.2%20million%2C%20and%20nearing%20close%20of%20%245%20million%20new%20funding%20round%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%2012%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Saturday's results
Brighton 1-1 Leicester City
Everton 1-0 Cardiff City
Manchester United 0-0 Crystal Palace
Watford 0-3 Liverpool
West Ham United 0-4 Manchester City
'Nightmare Alley'
Director:Guillermo del Toro
Stars:Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara
Rating: 3/5
