Danny Kay: Rape conviction man 'let down' by system

A man who had a rape conviction overturned after spending two years in prison has said he feels "devastated" and "let down" by the justice system.

Deleted Facebook messages were found by Danny Kay's sister-in-law leading to the Court of Appeal quashing the conviction.

He said he fears people will always have "doubts" about his innocence.

Derbyshire Police said its investigation will be independently reviewed so "lessons are learned".

Updates on this story and more from the East Midlands

Mr Kay, 26, had denied rape at Derby Crown Court in 2013 but was jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Judges ruled last month the new evidence supported Mr Kay's claim the sex was consensual.

Mr Kay was jailed in 2013 for four and half years after a trial at Derby Crown Court

"It was devastating for a system that you trust to let you down like that", he told BBC Breakfast.

"I had complete faith in it, I trusted that the truth would come out in the trial and it didn't."

Mr Kay passed on his Facebook log-in details to his sister-in-law who found the archived messages.

The woman, who cannot be identified, had said there had been little contact after sex.

However, defence lawyers argued at the Court of Appeal the messages showed jurors were given an "edited and misleading" picture of their conversation.

'Always on my name'

Mr Kay's lawyer, Philip Rule, claimed material held by police was often handed to defence teams "very late".

"Danny's case is slightly unusual because all reasonable lines of inquiry don't necessarily seem to have been followed," he said.

Mr Kay said he can now start rebuilding his life but "it's always going to be on my name".

"There's always going to be people out there that have the doubt."

Derbyshire Police said it has referred its investigation to an independent regional review team to "ensure lessons are learned" and "would welcome the opportunity to discuss the situation with Mr Kay."

Last month it was revealed a number of rape trials, including that of a Conservative MP's chief of staff, and 22-year-old student, Liam Allan, had collapsed after vital evidence had not been disclosed.