Student Wrongly Tried For Rape Plans To Sue Police

A London student accused and wrongly tried for rape plans to sue police after they failed to pass on evidence which cast doubt on the case.

Liam Allan, a psychology student at the University of Greenwich, also plans to sue the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the body responsible for prosecuting accused criminals.

Allan was said he was 'dragged through hell' on bail for two years and faced at least 12 years in prison until the CPS' case against him collapsed at Croydon Crown Court last week.

Credit: Google

"Mr Allan lost two years of his life because of gross negligence," Liam's lawyer Simone Meerabux said last night.

"We are considering legal action against the Met Police and CPS."

The CPS was forced to drop charges against Allan after police failed to share 40,000 text and WhatsApp messages sent by his accuser with the prosecution and the defence until just before his trial began.

The messages showed how Allan's accuser had pestered him for sex after the attack supposedly took place. She also sent messages to other partners about rape fantasies.

In one message sent on September 3, 2015, the accuser told a female friend: "It wasn't against my will or anything," while discussing her sexual experiences with Allan - casting the case into doubt.

Following the collapse of the trial, Allan said in a Facebook post: "I am in no way walking away from my experience or anyone else's and will continue to fight for future changes to the failings of the system."

Credit: PA

The judge in the case called for an inquiry at 'the very highest level' of the CPS and asked the Met Police to review their disclosure of evidence in the case.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We are aware of this case being dismissed from court and are carrying out an urgent assessment to establish the circumstances which led to this action being taken.

"We are working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service and keeping in close contact with the victim whilst this process takes place."

The CPS added: "We will now be conducting a management review together with the Metropolitan Police to examine the way in which this case was handled."

The seriousness of Allan's case has led to calls for a wide-ranging independent inquiry looking into failings in the police's disclosure system, particularly in cases of rape.

Dozens of rape cases are believed to have collapsed in recent years because of mistakes by police in the way they handle vital evidence.

Topics: Police, UK News, News, crime

Chris Ogden

Chris Ogden is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from the University of East Anglia with degrees in English Literature and Creative Writing before completing his NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. Chris has previously written for the independent culture magazine The Skinny, among other publications.

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