Travesties like this make it harder for real victims

THE case of Liam Allan raises fundamental questions about how rape and sexual assault cases are handled by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

But the issues run much deeper than the devastating effect this case had on a young man’s life.

The collapse of this trial because of mishandling, apparently by both detectives and the CPS, could also risk taking us back to the ‘bad old days’ when women were fearful of coming forward because they wouldn’t be believed. The non-disclosure by the Met Police of multiple text messages from the accuser requesting sex begs the question why on earth officers did not submit that evidence to the CPS.

It also raises the question of why the CPS did not check the police case with sufficient rigor. And more generally: what influences are the police and the CPS under when examining such cases?

Have the cuts to the police and CPS left them under too much pressure to perform the same service with less? And are police and prosecutors pushing more women to report and becoming overzealous in their prosecutions at the expense of justice?

Official crime surveys show while the number of people who say they were victims of sexual assault has remained steady, offences reported to police rise year on year.

However, if the CPS continues to bring cases without having the necessary evidence, fewer will come forward. Seeing people being dragged through the courts in highly-publicised cases which ultimately fail can deter genuine victim after they witness the backlash of criticism those complainants inevitably face, even if protected by anonymity. Despite more victims coming forward, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary concludes that one in four sexual offences that should have been treated as crimes are still not being recorded as such. So while sex offenders are going unpunished, innocent men like Liam Allan are being dragged through a nightmare scenario.

We don’t yet know why the CPS or the police mismanaged this case so badly – only the inquiry will reveal that. But as Mr Allan tries to put his young life back together, one thing is certain: we owe it to him, as well as to genuine victims of sexual violence, to ensure it never happens again.