THE former acting Met Commissioner has been referred to the police watchdog after he allegedly made “unacceptable” comments about rape.
Sir Stephen House is said to have shockingly described the “bulk” of rape complaints as being due to “regretful sex” during a meeting in January 2022.
The meeting had been held between senior officers and academics to discuss a major review that was taking place into rape prosecutions.
Professor Betsy Stanko, an adviser appointed by the Home Office to conduct the review called Operation Soteria Bluestone, made the allegations during an interview with Channel 4 News.
She said: “It felt as if he [Sir Stephen] was trying to minimise what the problem was, not taking it seriously."
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She added: “The only way I understand the term regretful sex – and it was said by officers elsewhere, in the other forces that we visited and researched – it is something about the victim.
“Again, the victim is mistaken. That that fault line of forcible sex, which is rape, was not crossed because it must have been confusion.
“The problem was about confusion, not about the facts or the evidence that could have been collected if one was trying to investigate a rape.”
Following the claims, Sir Stephen, who is currently seconded to the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct by Scotland Yard.
Sir Stephen, who was second in command at the Met when the alleged comments are said to have been made, has strongly denied the allegations, saying he found the term “abhorrent” and welcomed the IOPC investigation.
He retired as a serving officer last year and is currently seconded to the NPCC as a civilian employee, working on behalf of the Home Office.
Deputy Commissioner Lynne Owens said in a statement: “Having been made aware of an allegation that the comments were made by a senior Metropolitan Police officer, we are referring the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.”
In a statement, Sir Stephen said: “I have dedicated over four decades of public service to protecting the public from predatory offenders.
“I categorically deny using the phrase. These are not words I have ever used in relation to rape or sexual assault and the reason I am so certain that I did not say this is because I simply do not believe it; I find the phrase abhorrent.
“I find this characterisation of me to be deeply upsetting, and colleagues who know me know how untrue it is.”
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It comes as the Met faces pressure following the murder of Sarah Everard by serving Met policeman Wayne Couzens and the jailing of serial rapist PC David Carrick.
Baroness Louise Casey is currently conducting a major review of the Met’s culture.
Operation Soteria Bluestone launched in 2021 and is aimed at increasing the number of rape cases that make it to court.
Its latest report in December found a number of failings in police Rape and Sexual Offence units as well as a culture of disbelieving victims.
Professor Stanko’s research concluded ingrained prejudices in the police were part of the problem.
A Home Office spokesman said: "Rape and sexual offences are among the most traumatic of crimes, and it is vital that victims know they will be taken seriously and their allegations investigated thoroughly.
"Now it has been referred to the IOPC, the Home Secretary has agreed with National Police Chiefs’ Council chair Martin Hewitt that Sir Stephen House steps back from the review into the productivity of policing."
