Linda Williams calls for Met commissioner to resign over rape case handling

Linda Williams, a Metropolitan Police detective, has waived her right to anonymity to accuse the force of re-traumatising her during a civil claim and to call for the Met Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, to resign.

Williams has served in the Met for 27 years. In 2004 she was raped by David Carrick, a fellow Met officer she had been sent to work with. She said Carrick suggested she stay at his house rather than drive home and back, then raped her. When she said no, she says he told her: 'No, it's what I do, I'm going to carry on, it's what I do.'

She did not report the attack at the time, citing the culture of the job. She said she has not had a relationship with a man since 2004, and that she had wanted a marriage and children. She threw herself into her animals and her work, but described her life as lonely. She had worked as a rape investigation officer for years and was in that role when she was raped. She supported victims through rape cases while not reporting her own attack.

Williams later reported Carrick to Hertfordshire police after seeing on television that he had been charged with raping a different woman. Carrick, described as one of the UK's most prolific sex offenders, was jailed for attacking Williams and 11 other women. The Met Commissioner at the time praised the victims' courage and said policing had failed, adding that Carrick should not have been a police officer.

Williams then sought damages for the failure to protect her. She says the civil case left her feeling suicidal. Lawyers representing the commissioner cast doubt on the severity of her post-traumatic stress disorder, she says. One argument, she says, was that she had been attacked only once, so could not have severe PTSD. She likened the experience to being raped again and compared the lawyers to Carrick.

The Met, which settled the case and paid compensation, says it tried to reduce her distress and re-traumatisation and deal with the case as compassionately as possible. It commended her commitment to public service and said Sir Mark has repeatedly acknowledged her courage in seeking to drive change. The force said he has now written to her asking to meet.

Williams says the commissioner should resign. 'I would like him to resign. I don't think he's fit for the job,' she said. She said colleagues had been supportive, but support from higher management was not there. She said she was speaking out because she wanted the Met to improve, but did not believe Sir Mark could turn the force around.

She also said that if she were attacked again, she would not report it to the Met because she had no faith it would deal with it correctly, particularly if the perpetrator were a police officer or police staff. Sir Mark took over the Met promising to reform a force viewed as in crisis. Williams says he has not changed it enough.