PC Adam Zaman 28, of Romford, east London Metropolitan Police officer has been cleared of charges of rape after prosecutors dropped the case. PC Adam was alleged to have attacked the woman at the five star Andaz Hotel in Liverpool Street on October 24. The officer, based with the East Area Command Unit, who was off-duty at the time, had always ‘strenuously denied’ the allegation.
The Royal Courts of Justice was told the Crown had conceded there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction whilst the misconduct review will still be carried out.
CPS lawyers alleged at an earlier hearing that Pc Zaman had shown the woman his warrant card and told her he was an officer when he met her at a club in Romford before they travelled to the hotel together.
They also claimed the woman sent concerned texts to friends and British Transport Police during the journey, and that Pc Zaman showed his warrant card to hotel staff – who were concerned because the woman was intoxicated.
However, at a short hearing before Mrs Justice Cheema Grubb on Thursday, Pc Zaman was cleared of any wrongdoing.
PC Zaman, who has served with the Met Police since 2016, remains suspended from duty, and denied the rape allegation during a court appearance in November 2021.
At an earlier hearing Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyers alleged that PC Zaman had shown the woman his warrant card and told her he was an officer when they met at a club in Romford, before they travelled to the hotel together.
They added that PC Zaman showed his warrant card to hotel staff, who were concerned because the woman was intoxicated.
On Thursday, prosecutor Allison Hunter QC told the court: “After undertaking an objective review of all of the evidence the prosecution has taken the decision to offer no further evidence in this case.”
Ms Hunter said there were matters of “significant concern” that when “objectively assessed” alongside representations from PC Zaman meant there was no longer a “realistic” prospect of conviction and explained the decision had been made at the “highest levels”. “As part of our continuous review of this case, we have carefully considered material submitted to us by the police and have concluded that our legal test is no longer met.” and a not guilty verdict was recorded.
PC Zaman was not present at the Royal Courts of Justice to hear proceedings against him had been formally dropped.
The complainant, who retains her right to anonymity, has been consulted about the decision. She has also been informed of her right to have the case reviewed, the court heard.
Det Ch Insp Colin Bishop said City of London Police had carried out a “thorough investigation”.
He added: “The decision to discontinue the case was made by the CPS and it would not be appropriate for us to comment any further.”
More resources
ChatGPT and climate change: the faith of our world in AI
We are starting a new column using ChatGPT. Yes. You read well. We will be publishing articles written by AI, without disguising it as “real articles.” So hang in there because there will be a storm of op-ed pieces coming your way. © Pexels by Tara Winstead
The catastrophic consequences of Canada’s failing school system
School failing! Where is the news? While you might not believe the title of this article; maybe discard it as a “gotcha” kind of journalism.
Greenpeace activists helping students learn about climate change
Greenpeace volunteers do incredible things from scaling buildings, hanging from bridges, and dropping banners from massive heights. Around the world, you’ll see them blocking environmental destruction at the source and holding politicians and corporations to account! They march in rallies, lobby their politicians, work with allies, run social media accounts, and talk to people every single day about the world’s injustices and what needs to be done to change course for a healthy future. Photo by Pixabay
Global Indigenous leaders gather in Montreal to call for Indigenous-led nature protection
At a press conference in Montreal’s Hotel10 during COP15, global Indigenous leaders from Brazil, Canada, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon and Indonesia gathered to call for nature protection that centres Indigenous rights and shifts power from industry to Indigenous Peoples and local communities. © Toma Iczkovits Greenpeace
New skills to entertain Piano for all
Piano ©Creative Spades | Sergio D. Spadavecchia
Nature is for everyone—so is defending Her
© Pixabay – Pexels
