Dominic Raab criticised for ‘outrageous’ false claims on rape convictions

‘The collapse in rape convictions has been in the last four or five years,’ says leading human rights lawyer

Dominic Raab has been fiercely criticised by women’s campaigners for falsely accusing Keir Starmer of overseeing falling conviction rates for sexual offences and rape while Director of Public Prosecutions.

Raab, the deputy Prime Minister, incorrectly stated convictions rates for sexual offences and rape declined while the Labour leader was DPP and head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) from 2008 to 2013.

“I think it is quite right to look at Keir Starmer’s record between 2008 and 201,” Mr Raab told BBC Radio 4’s Today programmeon Tuesday morning. “Conviction rates for sexual offences and rape fell between 2008 and 201.”

“It is to do with Keir Starmer’s leadership as DPP.”

Data from the CPS shows their conviction rates increased from 57.7 per cent to 60.3 per cent from 2007-8 and 2013-14.

Harriet Wistrich, an award-winning human rights lawyer and director of the Centre for Women’s Justice, told The Independent: “The important point to make is Keir Starmer did a huge amount of work to improve prosecution of rape and sexual offences.

“He was quite revolutionary as a Director of Public Prosecutions in that respect. He did far more than other DPPs to improve the prosecution approach to rape and sexual offences.

“It is hugely outrageous to criticise him. The collapse in rape convictions has been in the last four or five years.”

Ms Wistrich said the Conservative government can only “partly” be blamed for the fall but also attributed this trend to “reduced resources” as well as “attacks from high-profile” accused individuals who “complained after they were acquitted.”

“All politicians slag each other off in whatever way they can,” the lawyer added. “But this shows a lack of understanding and analysis of what took place.”

The lawyer argued it is “particularly unwarranted” to criticise Mr Starmer on the issue.

Ms Wistrich noted there was a significant increase in prosecutions from 2012/2013 to 2017/2018 and then a “massive fall” in the volume of cases prosecuted until now.

Andrea Simon, director of End Violence Against Women Coalition, added: “Recent Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show rape and sexual offences recorded by police are at the highest level on record within a 12-month period, alongside plummeting rates of perpetrators charged.

“As more women are coming forward to report rape and sexual assault, they’re being confronted by a criminal justice system that too often inappropriately focuses on their ‘credibility’ rather than the actions of the perpetrator, communicates with them poorly, and ultimately is unlikely to bring them justice.

“We’ve had the government’s Rape Review and the first set of rape scorecards published, but the majority of survivors of rape are not experiencing many meaningful improvements to the way the criminal justice system operates.”

Ms Simon called for political leaders to stop “tinkering around the edges” of this issue and instead focus on tackling the “deeply embedded structural issues” which lead to the justice system often failing female victims of male violence.

Meanwhile, Jess Phillips, shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, also hit out at Raab’s comments on Twitter.

“You have a serious nerve trying to use falling rape conviction when your government has basically overseen total degradation of rape charging,” the Labour MP said.

“Since you have been justice secretary sexual violence conviction has fallen. More rapists left on our streets. Cheers.”