‘We have failed. He should not have been an officer’
Rapist who served in Met pleads guilty to 49 charges as Commissioner apologises
SIR MARK ROWLEY, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, was last night facing his first major crisis less than five months into the job after it emerged a Scotland Yard officer had carried out scores of rapes.
David Carrick, who joined the Met in 2001, has pleaded guilty to 49 charges against 12 victims, covering a total of 85 separate offences, making him one of Britain’s most prolific rapists.
He used his position as a police officer to gain the trust of his victims, sometimes flashing his warrant card and telling them they would be “safe” with him.
Most recently he served as an armed officer protecting Parliament and MPS, and the force has acknowledged there were nine potential opportunities to catch him that were missed.
These included that Carrick was arrested on suspicion of rape three months before he was eventually charged, shortly after Wayne Couzens admitted the rape and murder of Sarah Everard, but was never suspended from the force.
Carrick also missed vital vetting checks but then passed with flying colours despite having numerous red flags against his name.
Sir Mark, who took over as Britain’s most senior police officer in September, spoke out last night amid mounting pressure over the appalling string of blunders and following criticism from MPS for a day of silence. Politicians were last night calling for an investigation into the failings in the case.
Sir Mark previously held the role of Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations at the Met, which Carrick’s unit came under.
He said: “This man abused women in the most disgusting manner. It is sickening. We’ve let women and girls down, and, indeed, we’ve let Londoners down.
He went on: “We have failed. And I’m sorry. He should not have been a police officer. We haven’t applied the same sense of ruthlessness to guarding our own integrity that we routinely apply to confronting criminals.
“I do know an apology doesn’t go far enough, but I do think it’s important to acknowledge our failings and for me to say I’m sorry.”
The scandal represents Sir Mark’s first crisis since taking over the Met from Dame Cressida Dick, who resigned after losing the confidence of Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London.
He has insisted that he will root out those who are corrupting the service, but the scale of the task was laid bare yesterday, when it emerged that more than 1,000 officers accused of sex offences or domestic abuse are to have their cases reviewed.
Scotland Yard has admitted failing to spot Carrick’s escalating pattern of behaviour and there are concerns that there could be many more predatory males lurking in the ranks.
As well as pleading guilty to more than 40 rape offences, Carrick sexually assaulted, beat, humiliated and controlled his victims, banning some from eating and even locking one, naked, in a cupboard under his staircase for up to 10 hours.
A year after joining the Met and while
‘This man abused women in the most disgusting manner. It is sickening’
he was still in his probation period, he was accused of actual bodily harm, following an attack on a girlfriend who wanted to end their relationship.
Two years later in 2004 he was involved in another suspected domestic incident, but neither incident resulted in any action from Scotland Yard.
There were further domestic abuse allegations made against him in 2009 and again in 2019, but no action was taken against him on either occasion, other than some words of advice from his superiors.
In July 2021, days after Wayne Couzens had admitted the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard, Carrick was arrested by a neighbouring force on suspicion of rape.
Scotland Yard was informed and Carrick was placed on restricted duties, but when the victim later withdrew the complaint, he was cleared to return to work. He has now pleaded guilty to that attack. Last night Priti Patel, the former home secretary, said that new laws were needed to stamp out police sleaze and end the “locker-room culture”.
She said: “We have got to break the locker-room culture and all this subjectivity and have to take statutory measures to help rebuild trust and confidence of the public in policing and give women assurances that they are being taken seriously when they report crimes against them.”
Meanwhile, MPS said that the new commissioner would be judged on his ability to quickly reform the Met, which
‘Just turning a blind eye, let alone condoning it, makes you almost as guilty as the perpetrator’
has been damaged by a string of scandals in recent years.
Lee Rowley, Tory MP and member of the Home Affairs select committee, said Sir Mark should identify those within the police who had failed to spot Carrick’s escalating pattern of sinister behaviour and sack them.
He said: “People in high places get high wages, therefore they should be held accountable. How can the public have confidence in the Met police solving sex crimes, when it is happening right under their nose?”
Tory MP Tim Loughton, another member of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said: “There’s got to be full transparency, the mindset has got to change where you have officers who are aware of it going on, they have a duty of care to call it out.
“Just turning a blind eye, let alone condoning it, is unacceptable and makes you almost as guilty as the perpetrator. Sir Mark Rowley has to throw the light of scrutiny and transparency into police practice.”
Dame Louise Casey, who recently published a damning report into the Met’s handling of misconduct cases, has written to Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, asking for a review into the Carrick case.
Her report found that up to 60 percent of misconduct allegations made against Met officers resulted in a “no case to answer decision”.
She also found that the Met’s threshold for deciding when they could sack officers was set too high, meaning many of those guilty of offences such as repeated sexual misconduct were allowed to remain on the force.
Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, said an urgent review of the blunders in the Carrick case was needed. “For the sake of his victims and survivors, there should be an investigation into how the alarm bells and red flags have been ignored in this case,” Sir Ed said. “Without swift action, the public will not regain trust in the police.”
Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, also claimed that there needed to be urgent reform if trust and confidence were to be restored to policing.
She said: “The next Labour government will introduce new national compulsory standards on vetting, checks and misconduct.
“We urgently need action to raise standards and restore confidence in the vital work the police do.”
Despite the pressure on Sir Mark to make swift and meaningful changes in the Met, a Home Office source insisted that he had the backing of the Home Secretary. The source said: “We are fully supporting the Commissioner in his work to reform the force.”
Tomorrow, Ms Braverman will set out detailed plans to review ways in which police disciplinary procedures could be streamlined to make it easier for chief constables to sack corrupt and under-performing officers.