Met coughs up for rape case 'disgrace'

The case, involving a 15-year-old girl, ended in acquittal with the trial judge branding it a "disgrace."

An investigation led to four officers being reprimanded and a shake-up of sexual offence teams after it emerged officers had been told to focus more on car crime than rape.

The girl's family sued, arguing that her human rights had been breached, but have reportedly agreed to settle for £15,000.

Her mother told the BBC that the Met had fought "really dirty" against the claim.

"Had they put the same amount of effort into investigating my daughter's rape, I reckon he would probably have been found guilty," she said.

"They should have just held their hands up and said: 'we're sorry'."

Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Duthie, the head of the Met's Sapphire sexual offences unit, admitted today that rape was not taken seriously enough at the time.

But he insisted that things have improved.

The case was given to an "inexperienced, untrained, poorly supervised, under-resourced" team, he said.

"I have reviewed the investigation again recently and it is shocking. The trial judge said it was a disgrace and I don't disagree," he said.

"I want to reassure you that the Met now take rape as an extremely serious offence, it is a priority for us," he said - accepting that officers were previously told to put car crime first.

But Lisa Longstaff of Women Against Rape said: "They keep saying that everything has changed but these cases are a continual reminder of what the police policy is in practice.

"For many women, children and families, it is not just that victims are disbelieved but, believed or not, that they face at best carelessness and at worst a complete refusal by police to properly investigate rape."