Met Police chief admits failures in Simon Levy case as IOPC investigates

The Metropolitan Police has admitted to critical failures in the case of Simon Levy, who murdered two women in Barnet and Edgware while on bail in 2025. Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley acknowledged the force’s mistakes during an interview with BBC Radio 4’s *Today* programme on 26 June 2026, days after Levy was sentenced to a whole life term at the Old Bailey.

Levy, 40, killed Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo in March 2025 and Sheryl Wilkins five months later. He had been released on licence in February 2023 after serving half of a prison sentence for a 2021 sexual assault. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is now examining how the Met managed Levy from his first conviction to his final arrest in September 2025.

Delays in charging decisions

The Met did not seek Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) advice on Valencia-Trujillo’s death until after Wilkins was murdered, as reported by the BBC. A pathologist could not determine a cause of death in the first case, but Rowley insisted detectives had pursued the investigation. "The inference that the Met didn’t try on that case is just not true," he said.

Evidence later revealed Levy’s semen was found on Valencia-Trujillo’s body and his blood at the scene. CCTV footage showing Levy near the victim shortly after she passed a camera was not reviewed by the local team. Other potential CCTV evidence was never collected and had been deleted by the time specialist homicide detectives took over the case months later.

Systemic failures beyond policing

Rowley criticised broader systemic failures, including the prison service’s decision to release Levy on licence after he sexually assaulted a female prison officer in HMP Brixton in April 2022. The Met did not question Levy about the incident until five months after Wilkins’ murder. "I don’t understand that decision either," Rowley said. However, the BBC noted that Levy’s release was automatic under licence rules and not a discretionary decision.

The Met also admitted downgrading Levy from a high-risk to a medium-risk sex offender in August 2024, reducing the level of monitoring required. "Those are mistakes and those are our mistakes," Rowley said. By the time Levy was charged with the prison assault in October 2025, he had attacked 13 more women, killing two.

Criticism from families and MPs

Labour MP Jess Phillips said Levy’s second murder "could have been avoided had the state not failed". Mina Smallman, whose daughters were murdered in a separate case in 2020, accused the Met of not taking Valencia-Trujillo seriously because she was a sex worker. "Once again the Met is deciding who matters," she told the *Today* programme.

Rowley defended the force’s efforts but acknowledged resource pressures. The Met now monitors 10,800 registered sex offenders in London, a number growing by 100 every three months. The force is 4,000 officers smaller than it was four years ago. "This is a systemic disinvestment by successive governments," he said.

What happens next

The IOPC’s investigation into the Met’s handling of Levy is ongoing. A report is expected to be published in early 2027, though no firm date has been set. The CPS and Met have both apologised for their roles in the case. Families of the victims have called for urgent reforms to offender monitoring and inter-agency coordination.