Met Police: Sir Stephen House faces no action over rape comments

Sir Stephen House says the watchdog's findings underline his "long-standing commitment to combatting violence against women"

A former deputy commissioner of the Met Police will not face disciplinary proceedings after he allegedly said the bulk of rape complaints were "regretful sex", a police watchdog said.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigated after Sir Stephen House was alleged to have made the comments during a meeting.

The watchdog found no indication he breached behavioural standards.

Sir Stephen denied the allegations against him.

"I bitterly regret that these allegations have helped to undermine public confidence in the commitment of the Metropolitan Police to support the victims of rape," he said.

"I hope that the findings may help to reassure the public of the strength of that commitment."

Academic Professor Betsy Stanko had accused the senior officer of making the comments during a New Scotland Yard meeting in January 2022.

She first made the allegations a year after the meeting during a television interview.

Sir Stephen denied the allegations and suggested that he had been misheard or there was a misunderstanding.

• Former Met chief investigated over rape comments

• Officer's 'regretful sex' rape comment investigated

The IOPC said no minutes were kept of the meeting, and the one person in attendance who had kept notes had no record of the comments alleged to have been made.

It said investigators had to rely on the recollections of the people present more than a year later because of the lack of written documentation.

'Degree of misunderstanding'

IOPC director Amanda Rowe said: "We found evidence that indicated Sir Stephen did use the phrase 'regretful sex', but the recollections of those present do not indicate it was used in the context alleged, and in our view there has been a degree of misunderstanding.

"We also considered Sir Stephen's career history, previous actions and public remarks about combatting violence against women and girls and sexual offences, which supported his assertion that the alleged comments did not reflect his stance on the issue."

In a statement issued through his lawyers, Sir Stephen said he was "pleased" with the decision and the IOPC's findings underlined his "long-standing commitment to combatting violence against women and domestic abuse".

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