Ex-Downing Street aide jailed for rape of sleeping woman

Mark Adams, 56, was found guilty of rape

A former aide to Tony Blair and John Major has been jailed for raping a woman who fell asleep on a sofa.

Mark Adams, 56, was found guilty and sentenced on Tuesday after a trial at Woolwich Crown Court.

In May 2015, his victim awoke to find her trousers pulled down and Adams raping her at his house near Blackheath, south-east London, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

Adams was jailed for seven years and added to the sex offenders register.

During the attack, the CPS said, the victim told Adams to stop be he tried to persuade her to continue.

He also later accompanied her to a pharmacy to buy the morning-after pill.

Another witness said Adams had told her he and the victim had not had sex, but had "done other things", prosecutors said.

The former civil servant, who worked for the government for six years during the 1990s, was awarded an OBE in 1997.

Adams was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £170.