Taxi driver to get payout over rape allegation

A taxi driver has become the first victim of a false rape allegation to win the right to claim a payout from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.

Clive Bishop, 49, found himself in police custody after his 17-year-old passenger claimed he had sexually assaulted her on the way home. She later confessed to making up the complaint against Mr Bishop, from Walton, Somerset, in 2007.

A judge at Bristol Crown Court sentenced her to 10 months' imprisonment for perverting the course of justice – the maximum term. Last week a tribunal in Taunton ruled that Mr Bishop, of Walton, Somerset, can apply for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. His previous attempts to claim were turned down because he suffered no physical damage.

Mr Bishop told BBC News: "I feel the way that I was treated – being arrested in my own living room at 4.30 in the morning in front of my wife – I don't think people understand the distress, the hurt that it caused myself, my wife my family and friends. It was horrific."

Mr Bishop, a married foster carer, said he lost his business as a result of the slur on his character.

His solicitor Russell Pearce, of Pardoes, said the ruling was "a landmark case" and could pave the way for other victims to make similar claims.