John Worboys victims' plea to review rape claims

John Worboys, 60, is thought to have carried out more than 100 rapes and sexual assaults on women in the capital

Almost 100 cases against sex attacker John Worboys should be reconsidered by the Crown Prosecution Service, lawyers for his victims have said.

Black cab driver Worboys is thought to have carried out more than 100 rapes and sexual assaults on women in London.

Lawyers have asked the CPS to review the 93 cases that Worboys, 60, was not prosecuted over.

One of his victims said it would be a "total scandal" if the additional cases were not reviewed.

Worboys, who was jailed in 2009, faced prosecution for allegations made by 12 women.

He gave his victims drug-laced champagne before attacking them in the back of his cab.

Last week the Parole Board decided Worboys would be released with "stringent" licence conditions after he completed his minimum term of eight years in jail.

Slater and Gordon, a law firm that represented 11 of Worboys' victims, has now sent a letter to the CPS asking it to "undertake a thorough review of all available evidence" against him to see if he could be convicted of more crimes.

'Difficult and upsetting'

One victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said unless the cases were reopened, "we can have no faith in the justice system".

"These cases were not dropped at the time for lack of evidence, but rather because the CPS thought he would never be released from prison - and yet he's due to be released in just a couple of weeks," they said.

"The evidence is there. It would be a total scandal if it is now not properly looked at.

"There are few things more difficult and upsetting than coming forward after being sexually assaulted or raped. But when you do, then not to have your evidence taken into account, is much, much worse. What signal does that send?"

The black cab used by Worboys in his attacks

The latest demand comes after the law firm also sent a letter earlier this week to the probation service calling for Worboys to be excluded from the Greater London area upon his release.

In the latest letter Slater and Gordon lawyer Richard Scorer explained how Worboys was only prosecuted for 12 complainants out of "some 105 in total whom, we understand made complaints to the police".

He said since Worboys' conviction, an additional 45 incidents had been reported, of which 18 were linked to the taxi driver.

Mr Scorer also wrote Worboys' victims were told their attacker would "not be coming out for a long time" and therefore another trial was "not necessary".

"To the extent that this was the CPS's expectation at the time, this has clearly not happened and this justification for not bringing further prosecutions has fallen away," the letter reads.

"We therefore formally request that the CPS make a public commitment to reconsidering the evidence in all Worboys cases with a view to further prosecution."

BBC London has contacted the CPS for comment.