‘Stripped and left topless in a cell, I was drugged and sexually assaulted by Greater Manchester Police’
Unconscious with her hands cuffed behind her back, a woman is carried into a police cell.
She is forced face-down onto a thin mattress. Police officers take off her jeans, cut off her knickers, pull a pair of oversized custody shorts over her legs, then remove her top and bra before leaving her alone and topless. All of this is captured on CCTV.
The woman in the footage is Zayna Iman, 38, who alleges that she was drugged and sexually assaulted while being held in custody by Greater Manchester Police.
“Instead of providing an unconscious female with medical attention they thought, ‘I know let’s take her clothes off instead and leave her there’,” says Zayna, sounding incredulous. “It’s just something that the police do for their own perverse kicks.”
CCTV footage of Zayna Iman in a police cell
Police broke into her home in the early hours of 5 February 2021, and arrested her after she knocked the glasses off a female officer’s face. They were following up a welfare callout over a woman high on cocaine. Over the next 40 hours or so, Zayna – who has waived her right to anonymity – would be taken to and held at a police station.
From that period, there are three hours of missing footage which GMP have so far failed to supply.
Zayna’s allegation is supported by her medical records which show evidence of sexual injuries. She has also shared her concerns with former GMP chief superintendent, Martin Harding, who has seen the available footage and the glaring inconsistencies with the custody log, and says her claims are credible.
“I believe she was raped. I believe she was raped by an officer and I believe the organisation is covering it up,” he says.
GMP has not explained why the footage is missing but says there is currently no evidence to suggest any employees have misconducted themselves or committed a criminal offence.
Sky News producer Liz Lane examines the footage
Zayna’s memory comes in flashbacks, which is why she asked for footage of her detention, along with custody logs, using a subject access request – which can be made to obtain personal information held by an organisation.
Sky News producer, Liz Lane, has examined the police logs and more than 40 hours of the videos.
First significant gap in footage
Our investigation found three significant gaps for which GMP failed to provide footage, the first coming shortly after Zayna was arrested at 1.53am, according to police paperwork.
A police body-worn camera captures Zayna, wearing a white top and jeans, her hands cuffed, as she is bundled into the back of a police van at 1.59am, where she says she passed out.
The journey to the police station should have taken just 10 minutes but Zayna isn’t seen again for almost another hour and a half, when she is carried into the cell, apparently unconscious at 3.26am. She can’t remember the journey and there is no bodycam footage inside the van. Separately obtained CCTV footage shows an officer getting in through a side door.
When she does reappear, Zayna is carried by three female police officers. A male officer walks in and stands close to the door of her cell before disappearing. A fourth female officer helps in what Zayna describes as a strip search, although police suggest her clothes were removed and replaced with anti-rip garments over welfare concerns.
Former GMP chief superintendent Martin Harding
Harding says he can see “no justification at all” for the alleged strip search and there is nothing on the custody record to explain the grounds or that it was carried out at all.
“She’s left face down, when they suspect she might have had a drugs overdose so where is the duty of care?” Harding says.
Just after 5am, lying on a blue mat and covered by a blanket, Zayna finds she has been left a top to wear. She sits with her hands to her head at 5.34am, when the police log says she underwent a medical exam. No one is seen entering the cell on the CCTV footage and she does not move from the spot the entire hour.
Second gap
The next gap in the footage comes after Zayna is seen sitting on a bench with a blanket pulled up over her knees with a drink by her side. At 9.49am, she becomes agitated, and throws the cup across the room before looking up to the camera in a state of distress, her hands pressed to her face.
Worryingly, when she next appears at 11am, Zayna is topless and clearly agitated, hitting her head with her hands and gesturing with her arms. She is behaving strangely, in a sexual manner, as she runs her right hand through her long dark hair.
Police custody log
Zayna remains in a state of undress for the next 26 hours. The log says nine times that she is not fit to be detained yet there she stays. At one point she stands on the bench, a blanket draped around her shoulders, pointing to what appears to be blood on the surface between her feet.
Third gap
The third missing part of the story comes after Zayna, now completely naked, looks directly at the camera immediately before it cuts out again at 1pm the next day. An hour later, still naked, she is talking up to the camera and pointing at the cell door.
She is finally given a tracksuit to put on at 8.14pm before leaving the cell a few minutes later.
After her release, Zayna went straight to hospital. Her medical report states: “Miss Iman does not have any prior history of mental disorder, she has been admitted with an acute psychotic episode which has resolved without treatment. It is highly likely that this is drug related to ‘the date rape drug’ which led to a sexual assault.” Medical records also indicate sexual injuries.
“I remember being placed in a transportation vehicle and I just felt a sense of relief, like I’m safe now,” she says, her voice full of emotion.
Three women, including Zayna, have complained about their treatment
“I remember talking to people through a glass window and trying to explain what happened and I’m pointing here, here – places where it hurt,” she pauses, tears starting to run down her cheeks.
The Manchester mayor’s office has told Zayna that GMP have all the footage from the police cell.
Zayna is calm and measured now as she asks: “Why would you withhold footage? The very footage that could either prove or disprove my allegations you will not part with.
“Who’s got something to hide? I’m openly saying that at some point during my detention with Greater Manchester Police I was drugged and sexually assaulted, prove me wrong – give me the footage.”
Zayna is not the only woman to complain about her treatment at the same police station.
Kirsty (not her real name) believes officers were heavy-handed with her because she made complaints against the force for failing to investigate allegations of sexual abuse against her sister.
Police ‘on a power trip’
Accused of blackmail by the alleged abuser, Kirsty says she was strip searched and believes it was all about “power”. “It was police on a power trip … to shut me up, make me scared, to show we’re boss, not you,” she says. Police say her clothes were removed for welfare reasons.
In May 2023, Maria (not her real name) says she was strip-searched when she was arrested for malicious communications – accused of swearing at police during a call – after her partner had been held on suspicion of domestic violence against her and she went to the station to pick up her keys.
‘Treated like a piece of meat’
GMP say they thought she may be concealing a vape.
To authorise strip searches, police must have reasonable grounds to suspect someone is concealing something such as drugs, a weapon or crucial evidence like a mobile phone or SIM card.
But Maria says: “The only reason they did what they did was to degrade me… If I was a man, I don’t think they would’ve done it. I was treated like a piece of meat.”
A spokesperson for GMP said: “Greater Manchester Police is committed to delivering outstanding service to all those the force comes in to contact with. If service is proven to have fallen below an acceptable level, the force apologises and takes the necessary action.
“GMP is aware that these three individuals are unhappy with the service they received when they were arrested and detained – their complaints have or are being investigated by the force. Though one investigation is ongoing, there is currently no evidence to suggest any GMP employees have misconducted themselves or committed a criminal offence.
“Under the definition within the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, two of these individuals were not strip searched. Due to concerns for their welfare, their clothing was removed and replaced with anti-rip garments – this process is subject to different legislation and guidance.”
Police have not explained the missing footage.
According to the Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) code of practice, anything more than being asked to remove outer layers of clothing is classed as a strip search. GMP has been unable to tell us which different legislation they are referring to in their statement.
Call it a strip search or not, each of these three women say it was invasive and unjustified and want more accountability over how these things happen.
Additional reporting by Liz Lane, specialist producer, and Henry Vaughan, home affairs reporter.
An MP has told Sky News she was attacked online by the Tate brothers after she participated in a debate in the House of Commons about violence against women.
The controversial duo, Andrew and Tristan Tate, are facing charges of rape and human trafficking in the UK – all of which they deny.
But they are still very active online, and according to Sorcha Eastwood, the MP for Lagan Valley, are targeting her.
In a document seen by Sky News, Tristan Tate has highlighted one of the MP’s tweets and writes in private correspondence: “MP, nice target, can we sue her?”
Sorcha Eastwood says at first she thought the replies were from parody accounts and not the Tate brothers.
Her original tweet was about Elon Musk, not the Tate brothers. The MP said Musk’s tweets should be looked at through a counter-extremism lens.
“I was really concerned, I was concerned because to me that is a direct attack for want of a better phrase on me serving my constituents.
“I couldn’t believe that they decided to pick this random Northern Irish MP. The fact that it wasn’t even about them. This is something I didn’t go looking for.
“I think from my perspective, it’s a very, very sinister attempt to shut down important voices in public life, political discourse.”
It was only when she started noticing an uptick in abuse from other accounts she realised she had encountered some of the brothers’ followers.
“I had rape threats. I had death threats. I had people saying I should be hung from a lamppost. I had people saying I should be chopped into liver. I also had people then who were like we’ll waste 15 minutes raping Sorcha Eastwood.”
A representative for the Tate brothers told Sky News that there was no targeted campaign against Sorcha Eastwood
A representative for the Tate brothers told Sky News that there was no targeted campaign against her.
They said: “Ms Eastwood has a distorted view regarding social media if she believes one is required to ‘invite or ask’ people to interact.
“Tristan Tate is entitled to his view in relation to her tweet regarding Elon Musk.”
The self-styled “misogynist influencer” Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have both been charged with human trafficking, face allegations of trafficking minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering in Romania.
There is also a European arrest warrant for them as they are facing separate, unrelated charges of rape and human trafficking in the UK. They deny all charges.
Ms Eastwood now worries for others who don’t have a platform like her and who may not feel like they can speak out.
“If this is what has happened to me I have absolutely no doubt that this has happened to others where they have been attempted to be silenced.”
Keir Starmer has previously commented on the Tate brothers’ case in the Commons saying it is “a live issue”, but adding that “the principle is absolutely clear” in relation to whether the brothers should face justice.
Sorcha Eastwood says she wants to see the government do much more to protect against abuse online.
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Tate brothers deny wrongdoing
“I think ultimately the government has taken the wrong course on this. They need to step up.
“This should be an issue of national security as far as the radicalisation of young people online. It should be an issue in terms of the levels of misinformation, disinformation and the lack of trust that is had in our politics right across the UK and Europe.
“I want the government to help me, help every other person to crack down on this and get serious about it. And the only way they’ll be able to do that, is by hitting these tech companies in the only language which they understand, which is money and via robust legislation.”
A government spokesperson said: “Violence against women and girls is a scourge on our society which is why we have set out an unprecedented mission to halve these crimes within a decade.
“Tackling illegal abuse both online and offline is central to supporting victims and preventing harm in our communities and we will not hesitate to strengthen laws to deliver this mission.
“Last month, parts of the Online Safety Act came into force meaning companies must take action to protect users from illegal material including extreme sexual violence.
“Further protections from this summer will require platforms to protect children from harmful, misogynistic, and violent content.”
UK
‘It’s just nasty’: Birmingham residents ‘overwhelmed’ by foul stench and massive rats as bins strike rumbles on
In parts of Birmingham, the stench is overwhelming – enough to make you heave.
At a block of flats in Highgate, in Birmingham city centre, we find a mountain of bin liners full of rubbish spewing out of the cavernous bin store, which is normally locked.
Mickel comes out to speak to us, while all around bin liners lie open, with the contents for all to see, including used nappies and rotting food.
Mickel says they’ve had ‘foxes and rats, literally the size of cats’
Outside Mickel’s flat in Highgate, bin liners lie open, spewing out rubbish
We both find it hard to keep talking amid the awful smell.
“We’ve had foxes and rats, literally the size of cats, flies, it’s just nasty, something needs to be done,” he says.
Chris says the situation is ‘overwhelming’ as she’s ‘terrified of rats’
Around the corner, I meet Chris, in her dressing gown, popping the bins into her bin store beneath her flat before work.
She unlocks it, and although it isn’t bursting out on to the street yet, it is getting full.
She says the situation is “overwhelming” as she’s “terrified of rats”. But, even so, she has sympathy for the striking bin workers.
“It’s not an easy job; they must have a heart of gold to do that job,” she says.
“Pay them whatever they need, they deserve it.”
Striking bin workers at Lifford Lane tip, south of the city centre
There’s an awful smell coming from a mountain of bin liners outside Mickel’s flat in Highgate
At Lifford Lane tip, south of the city centre, Brigette has pulled up alongside picketing workers. The back seat of her car is full of rubbish.
She apologises for the terrible waft, mixed with air freshener.
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“It’s very pungent, isn’t it? Not nice,” she admits.
“It’s unfortunate, I have some sympathies for all the parties, but, equally, we have a duty of care to stay clean and tidy.”
She says she has her rubbish and that of her elderly aunt and plans to make weekly trips to the tip until a resolution in this pay dispute between the council and the Unite union is found.
UK
‘US is our closest ally’, Jonathan Reynolds says in reaction to Trump tariffs – but ‘nothing off the table’
The US is “our closest ally” but “nothing is off the table” in response to Donald Trump’s 10% tariffs on imports from the UK, the business secretary has said.
In a statement following the US president’s nearly hour-long address to the world, Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “We will always act in the best interests of UK businesses and consumers.
“That’s why, throughout the last few weeks, the government has been fully focused on negotiating an economic deal with the United States that strengthens our existing fair and balanced trading relationship.”
Follow the latest following Trump’s tariffs announcement
Mr Reynolds reiterated the statements from the prime minister and his cabinet over the past few days, saying the US is “our closest ally”, and the government’s approach is to “remain calm and committed to doing this deal, which we hope will mitigate the impact of what has been announced today”.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds says “nothing is off the table” following the tariffs announcement. Pic: PA
But he continued: “We have a range of tools at our disposal, and we will not hesitate to act. We will continue to engage with UK businesses, including on their assessment of the impact of any further steps we take.
“Nobody wants a trade war, and our intention remains to secure a deal. But nothing is off the table, and the government will do everything necessary to defend the UK’s national interest.”
‘Get back round the negotiating table’, say Tories
The Conservative Party’s shadow business and trade secretary described the US president’s announcement as “disappointing news which will worry working families across the country”.
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Sky’s Ed Conway examines how economies across the world are impacted by tariffs
Andrew Griffith hit out at the government for having “failed to negotiate with President Trump’s team for too many months after the election, failed to keep our experienced top trade negotiator, and failed to get a deal to avoid the imposition of these tariffs by our closest trading partner”.
“The chancellor’s emergency budget of just a week ago with its inadequate headroom is now at risk, casting uncertainty about more taxes or spending cuts,” he continued. “Sadly, it is British businesses and workers who will pay the price for Labour’s failure.”
He called on ministers to “swallow their pride” and “get back round the negotiating table to agree a fair deal to protect jobs and consumers in both the UK and the US alike”.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has reacted furiously to Mr Trump’s announcement of a “destructive trade war”, and called on the government to stand up against “Trump’s attempts to divide and rule”.
“The prime minister should bring our Commonwealth and European partners together in a coalition of the willing against Trump’s tariffs, using retaliatory tariffs where necessary and signing new trade deals with each other where possible.”
Speaking on Wednesday evening at a White House event entitled ‘Make America Wealthy Again’, the US president unleashed sweeping tariffs across the globe.
Mr Trump held up a chart detailing the worst offenders – which also showed the new tariffs the US would be imposing.
The UK’s rate of 10% was perhaps a shot across the bow over the 20% VAT rate, though the president’s suggested a 10% tariff imbalance between the two nations. Nonetheless, tariffs of 10% could directly reduce UK GDP by between 0.01% and 0.06%, according to Capital Economics.
A 25% duty on all car imports from around the world is also being imposed from midnight in the US – 5am on Thursday, UK time.
Read more:
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The UK government had been hoping to negotiate an economic deal with the US in a bid to avoid the tariffs, but to no avail. The government says negotiations will continue.
The Confederation of British Industry said “negotiating stronger trading relationships with all like-minded partners will be foundational to any success”.
The business secretary is expected to make a statement in the House of Commons on Thursday, and we are also expecting to hear from the prime minister.
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