Wayne Couzens has quietly been taken to an NHS hospital for a back operation, costing taxpayers around £17,000.
The former Metropolitan Police constable kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah Everard who was walking home from a friend's house near Clapham Common in March 2021.
He was given a whole life order on September 30 after pleading guilty.
Couzens was forced to take several days away from HMP Frankland in Durham for the operation which required intensive security, according to The Sun.
Wayne Couzens is incarcerated at HMP Frankland
PA
The cost of getting him in and out of HMP Frankland in Durham was estimated to be £10,000 alone with the procedure costing up to £7,000 in what has been called a "waste of public money" by a Labour MP.
North Durham MP Luke Akehurst told The Sun: "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."
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."
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Sarah Everard was raped and killed by serving Met officer Wayne Couzens as she walked home in south London on March 3 2021.HANDOUT
One prison source told The Sun that Couzens is "reviled" within HMP Frankland and the operation to get him to and from the hospital would have "easily run to more than £10,000".
They added: "He was taken straight from his cell into a Category A van, which is bullet-proof with a custody manager and at least four prison officers.
"While he was at the hospital, armed police would have been on guard. Couzens was classed as a 'high-risk escort'
"[That's] not because he poses a danger but because of the danger to him from the public. He is recognisable and reviled so they do not take chances."
Sources said Couzens was "reluctant" to move from the jail’s hospital as he is too scared of being attacked.
Former Met detective Peter Bleksley said: "Couzens should be at the very bottom of the pecking order when it comes to NHS treatment.
"It sticks in the craw when any killer like him is effectively whisked to the front of the queue.
"If anybody has had their procedures cancelled or even delayed so he can be treated, it is a scandal and an insult to the memory of Sarah."
A spokesman from the Prison declined to comment on healthcare issues.
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