British judges dismiss rape case claims as furore over gender violence intensifies

Campaigners vow to appeal decision after failure of case highlighting prosecution rates for sexual offences

Floral tributes and messages placed in tribute to Sarah Everard in south London, where a vigil was broken up by police because of Covid-19 rules. Getty

Judges dismissed a legal challenge about the way rape cases are handled in the UK in a blow to campaigners amid a growing political storm over gender violence.

The End Violence Against Woman Coalition said it was deeply disappointed after three judges ruled there was no illegal change of policy by prosecutors that affected the number of cases brought to trial for attacks on women.

The decision follows the ordering of an inquiry into the way London police handled crowds as officers broke up a vigil on Saturday for Sarah Everard, 33.

Her body was found in woodland after she was reported missing on March 3 and a serving police officer was on Saturday charged with her kidnap and murder.

The court case was brought last year because fewer than 3 per cent of rape allegations reported to the police resulted in someone being charged in 2019/20, said the group. It was financed by a crowdfunding appeal that garnered almost 4,000 donations.

The group said it planned to appeal the judgment at a time when people were “expressing their outrage at the failure of the criminal justice system to provide adequate protection for women and tackle the epidemic of male violence”.

Prosecutors were accused of dropping weaker cases before they reached trial to ensure they improved conviction rates for sex crimes perpetrated by men against women.

Max Hill, the UK’s director of public prosecutions, said his organisation had “prioritised rape and sexual offences” for more than a decade. “The challenges in prosecuting these crimes are well known,” he said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would lead a taskforce on ways to make the streets safer for girls and women.

“The death of Sarah Everard must unite us in determination to drive out violence against women and girls and make every part of the criminal justice system work to protect and defend them,” he said.