Was the claim by the black cab rapist's victims in the public interest? The High Court side-stepped the key issue says Jon Holbrook
On public policy grounds victims of a flawed police investigation have never before been able to sue a police force for damages. Last month the law changed when the High Court allowed two victims of the “black cab rapist”, John Worboys, to receive damages from the Metropolitan Police (DSD v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis [2014] EWHC 436 (QB), [2014] All ER (D) 76 (Mar)). Yet the public policy reasons for previously disallowing these claims have not been answered, in fact they have not even been addressed.
John Worboys drugged and then raped or sexually assaulted over 100 women in his black cab over a period of six years that ended with his arrest in 2008. The serial rapist was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2009. As a result of last month’s judgment any victim of “particularly severe violent acts” will now be able to sue the police if the police investigation is not pursued “in a timely and efficient manner”.
