NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Rape charge student Liam Allan: 'An apology doesn't cut it at all'

Daily Mail
16 Dec, 2017 05:33 PM10 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Discussing his horrendous ordeal, Liam Allan told BBC News: "It kind of flips your whole life upside down."

Discussing his horrendous ordeal, Liam Allan told BBC News: "It kind of flips your whole life upside down."

A UK student who was wrongly charged with rape and "dragged through hell" for two years due to a police blunder has said "an apology doesn't cut it slightly at all - it's something I will never be able to forgive or forget".

Liam Allan's trial was "blown out the window" yesterday after lawyers discovered his alleged victim texted him suggesting she wanted to have more sex after the alleged attack, the Daily Mail reported.

The texts held by police should have been made available to both the defence and the prosecution almost two years ago but were not due to "sheer incompetence".

Allan's lawyer said he should never have been charged and was needlessly put through two years of turmoil.

Discussing his horrendous ordeal which could have seen him jailed for 12 years, Allan told BBC News: "An apology doesn't feel like enough.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"The length of time I have faced, and the person has remained anonymous.

"I am everywhere [in the news] and I have been dragged through hell for the last two years. An apology doesn't cut it slightly at all."

Allan said he felt "pure fear" when he learned he had been accused of rape but said he would never be able to understand why the accusations were made.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He said: "There was no possible real gain from it other than destroying somebody else's life... It's something I will never be able to forgive or forget."

He added: "It kind of flips your whole life upside down. Everything you build up for yourself can be torn away.

"You realise how much you have to lose. But you also do start losing things as the process gets longer.

"It's made me realise that something needs to change. There are things that go on behind closed doors that you can't even imagine and that a lot of people are probably going through the same sort of thing."

Discover more

World

Rape case scrapped after texts from accuser revealed

15 Dec 06:38 PM
World

Revealed: Text message that cleared innocent man of rape

17 Dec 05:15 PM
World

UK police under fire: Text messages kill a second rape trial

20 Dec 05:01 PM
Allan, 22, was on bail for almost two years and spent three days at Croydon Crown Court in the dock before his trial was stopped yesterday. Photo / Supplied
Allan, 22, was on bail for almost two years and spent three days at Croydon Crown Court in the dock before his trial was stopped yesterday. Photo / Supplied

Talking about the moment his trial was ended, he said: "I was relieved, not just for me but for everyone who has been with me every step of the way and everyone this has impacted on.

"It's just been a huge, huge relief. You just want to get your life back. You don't realise you have lost part of your life until you have it completely dumped.

"I'll be honest, I did start to have panic attacks a couple of weeks before the trial - where it is internal - you have to have your own reaction and that's it. Panic attacks are an internal reaction but it's to be expected.

"You can't go through this and be expected to not panic or not fear and remain strong throng through the whole thing.

"You could be the strongest person in the world and it'll bring you to your knees."

Allan also revealed he was arrested infront of his mother and held for six hours before being able to tell her why.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Asked why he thought the police were coming to his door to arrest him in January 2016, he said: "I had three different theories. Because I was just starting my course, I thought it may have been routine or it might have been I had been somewhere as a witness. There was no way I could guess it might have been related to this."

He said when he heard the allegations: "I couldn't speak I couldn't move."

"Sheer incompetence" by police meant that texts about his alleged victim's fantasies of violent and casual sex were kept secret, a prosecutor revealed today.

Barrister Jerry Hayes claims the detective in charge told him sexual messages sent by the woman to Liam Allan and her friends were "too personal" to share.

But in fact they "blew the case out of the window" and police had failed to even look at them because of 'sheer incompetence', he said.

The CPS is also being asked to explain why it did not demand full disclosure of evidence including phone records before the trial started.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The texts revealed the woman asked Allan for casual sex and fantasised about rough and violent intercourse and even being raped despite telling police she didn't like being intimate with men.

Judge Peter Gower stopped the trial at Croydon Crown Court yesterday and describing the moment the suspect found out Mr Hayes said: "Obviously he was happy but this has been hanging over his head for years. He could have had his life totally trashed. That was awfully wrong".

Allan said he had been "betrayed by the system" and his mother Lorraine sobbed as she said her son had been treated as "guilty until you can prove you are innocent", adding: "I knew the truth".

Today Scotland Yard launched an "urgent assessment" of its handling of Allan's case but there are calls for an independent investigation.

Police have been blamed for the student's ordeal by Hayes but it is common for the CPS to also demand full disclosure of evidence including phone records before any trial.

Chief prosecutor Alison Saunders has made a high profile push to bring more sex attack cases to court and asked her lawyers to trawl through a man's relationship history to boost conviction.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The number of rapes reported to police has gone from around 13,000 in 2002 to 45,000 last year but in 2014 it emerged a quarter of sex offences - including rape - were never recorded as crimes.

The prosecutor and former Tory MP said he and the CPS had no idea a disc of the woman's messages even existed until the trial started.

He said as soon as the defence got them they realised the texts "blew the case out of the window" and he asked the judge at Croydon Crown Court to throw the case out last night.

Revealing how the case unraveled Mr Hayes told the BBC: "I spoke to the officer in charge and he said [the texts] are clearly not disclosable and I said 'Why not' and he replied 'you know it's very personal matters'.'

The prosecutor said this was 'wrong' and he wasn't 'happy' and insisted that he, the CPS and the defence get them.

He said: "The defence quickly saw the information blew the prosecution out of the water. If they had not been seen this boy faced 12 years in prison and on the sex offenders' register for life with little chance of appeal. This was a massive massive miscarriage of justice, which thank heavens was avoided."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Allan faced 12 years in prison had the texts not been released. Photo / via Facebook
Allan faced 12 years in prison had the texts not been released. Photo / via Facebook

And slamming Scotland Yard he said: "I don't think they had looked at it [the texts]. It's just sheer incompetence I'm afraid. Police don't always understand it is their duty to review it".

Hayes went to the judge Peter Gower to say he would no longer offer any evidence and Mr Allan was found not guilty of six counts of rape and six counts of sexual assault.

Describing the moment he told the rape suspect he said: 'He was happy obviously but this had been hanging over him for years and his life totally trashed. What happened was completely wrong'.

He also said last night: "I would like to apologise to Liam Allan. There was a terrible failure in disclosure which was inexcusabl".

He added: "The trouble is everyone is under pressure. This is a criminal justice system which is not just creaking, it's about to croak".

Allan, 22, was on bail for almost two years and spent three days at Croydon Crown Court in the dock before his trial was stopped yesterday.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The judge has called for an inquiry after the trial of a student accused of rape collapsed after police failed to reveal she sent him messages asking for casual sex and revealing her own violent sexual fantasies.

Officers failed to hand over evidence proving his innocence and the Crown's prosecutor apologised to Allan last night.

Evidence missed included a computer disk containing copies of 40,000 messages - including ones sent to Allan by the woman pestering him for sex.

The woman had told police she didn't enjoy sex and the lead detective has been accused of failing to review her texts.

If found guilty, the 22-year-old was told he would be jailed for at least 10 years.

After the trial collapsed Allan, a criminology student, told The Times: "I can't explain the mental torture of the past two years. I feel betrayed by the system which I had believed would do the right thing — the system I want to work in."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

His mother Lorraine Allan, 46, told the paper: "In the current climate, in these sorts of cases, you are guilty until you can prove you are innocent."

Prosecuting barrister Jerry Hayes said: "I would like to apologise to Liam Allan. There was a terrible failure in disclosure which was inexcusable."

Yesterday judge called for an inquiry at the "very highest level" of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and a review of disclosure of evidence by the Metropolitan Police.

Scotland Yard said today it is carrying out an "urgent assessment" after the rape prosecution collapsed due to the late disclosure of evidence which undermined the case.

Judge Peter Gower found him not guilty and set him free saying: "There is something that has gone wrong and it is a matter that the CPS, in my judgment, should be considering at the very highest level.

"Otherwise there is a risk not only of this happening again but that the trial process will not detect what has gone wrong and there will be a very serious miscarriage of justice. He [Allan] leaves the courtroom an innocent man without a stain on his character."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He advised of "serious miscarriages of justice" when he heard that documents were not always sent to defence lawyers in order to keep costs at a minimum.

Allan, a criminology undergraduate at Greenwich University, was accused of six counts of rape and six sexual assaults against a woman who claimed she did not enjoy sex.

The young man, however, claimed the sexual intercourse had been consensual.

He said the woman involved had acted maliciously because he was starting university and would not see her again.

Allan's lawyers were denied access to the woman's telephone records after police insisted there was nothing of interest for the defence or prosecution.

Meanwhile, when Jerry Hayes took over the case on the day before the trial started - he demanded police hand over the phone records.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A computer disk containing copies of 40,000 messages were taken from the handset, revealing that the woman had continuously pestered the undergraduate for 'casual sex'.

She also told her friends that she enjoyed sex with him and even spoke about her fantasies of having violent sex and being raped by him.

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."

A spokesman for the CPS said: "A charge can only be brought if a prosecutor is satisfied that both stages of the Full Code test in the Code for Crown Prosecutors are met, that is, that there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction and that a prosecution is required in the public interest.

"All prosecutions are kept under continuous review and prosecutors are required to take account of any change in circumstances as the case develops.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"In November 2017, the police provided more material in the case of Liam Allan. Upon a review of that material, it was decided that there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction.

"Therefore we offered no evidence in the case against Liam Allan at a hearing on December 14 2017.

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

Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

Premium
Analysis

Analysis: Trump buys himself time, and opens up new options

19 Jun 11:45 PM
live
World

Trump confirms timeline for US strike on Iran decision

19 Jun 11:09 PM
World

Manga prophecy sparks flight cancellations to Japan amid quake fears

19 Jun 10:45 PM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

Premium
Analysis: Trump buys himself time, and opens up new options

Analysis: Trump buys himself time, and opens up new options

19 Jun 11:45 PM

New York Times analysis: It frees Trump from operating on a schedule driven by Netanyahu.

Trump confirms timeline for US strike on Iran decision
live

Trump confirms timeline for US strike on Iran decision

19 Jun 11:09 PM
Manga prophecy sparks flight cancellations to Japan amid quake fears

Manga prophecy sparks flight cancellations to Japan amid quake fears

19 Jun 10:45 PM
US bases that could attack Iran — and become targets

US bases that could attack Iran — and become targets

19 Jun 10:43 PM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP