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Former Metropolitan Police officer Adam Provan has been jailed for 16 years – with another eight years on extended licence for multiple rapes against a teenage girl and a female police officer.

The 44-year-old was convicted in June of six counts of rape of a fellow police officer between 2003 and 2005.

He was also found guilty of two counts of rape of a 16-year-old girl, who he met on a blind date after lying about his age in 2010.

Judge Noel Lucas said he was troubled by the way the Met handled the female police officer’s initial complaints about Provan’s behaviour in 2005.

He said those who dealt with the complaints at the Met “were more concerned with looking after one of their own than taking her seriously” – and had an investigation been taken forward, the teenage victim may have been spared.

Sentencing Provan at Wood Green Crown Court, the judge said he displayed a “cold-blooded entitlement to sex” then immediately behaved as if everything was “completely normal”.

He concluded that the “persistence and seriousness” of Provan’s offending was clear, adding: “By your actions, you brought disgrace on the police force.”

Read more:
‘Provan had ‘fascination bordering on obsessive’ with young women

Provan was a serving officer in the Met Police East Area Command Unit at the time of the offences.

He was jailed for nine years in 2018 after being convicted of raping the 16-year-old victim following a retrial – and served three years and three months in prison before a successfully appeal.

When his case was sent for a third trial in May, six new counts of rape were added – relating to earlier offences against the serving Metropolitan Police officer.

On the first day of a two-day sentencing hearing, it was revealed that Provan had 751 female contacts in his mobile.

Prosecutor Anthony Metzer KC said details from the phone “strongly suggested” there was sexual activity with the women, many of whom were young.

Mr Metzer said Provan used his position to gain the trust of young women and had “aspects of a Jekyll and Hyde character”.

He added that Provan had an “extended history of allegations” of sexual misconduct dating back to the 1990s.

Speaking at the court from behind a screen, the teenage victim, who is now in her 20s, said: “The day I met Adam Provan changed my life forever.

“No prison sentence will take away the harm Adam Provan has caused me. No amount of justice will make me forget the date from hell.

“Even though I tried my best to block it out I will never forget how scared I was when the assault took place, and 13 years later reliving my worst nightmare.”

Being told that Provan really was a police officer, as he had claimed to be, was “sickening”, she said.

The other victim, still a serving officer, said she had “lived in constant fear” that Provan would kill her, and felt he saw himself as “untouchable”.

She also felt the police had not dealt with Provan and failed to protect her, she told the court.

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Protesters throw powder on Tower Bridge during London Marathon

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Protesters throw powder on Tower Bridge during London Marathon

Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.

The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.

A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.

The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.

Pic: LNP
Image:
Pic: LNP

They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.

A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.

Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.

More on London Marathon 2025

There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.

More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.

Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.

Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.

Read more:
Sky’s Beth Rigby running marathon in honour of ‘dearest friend’
Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform

Pic: LNP
Image:
Pic: LNP

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.

“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”

The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.

The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.

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Kemi Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform after next week’s council elections

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Kemi Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform after next week's council elections

Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out forming coalitions at a local level with Reform after the council elections next week.

Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the Conservative leader did however categorically rule out a pact with Nigel Farage’s party on a national level.

“I am not going into any coalition with Nigel Farage… read my lips,” she said.

However, she did not deny that deals could be struck with Reform at a local level, arguing that some councils might be under no overall control and in that case, “you have to do what is right for your local area”.

“You look at the moment, we are in coalition with Liberal Democrats, with independents,” she said. “We’ve been in coalition with Labour before at local government level.

“They [councillors] have to look at who the people are that they’re going into coalition with and see how they can deliver for local people.”

She added: “What I don’t want to hear is talks of stitch-ups or people planning things before the results are out. They have to do what is right for their communities.”

More on Electoral Dysfunction

A total of 23 councils are up for grabs when voters go to the polls on Thursday 1 May – mostly in places that were once deemed Tory shires, until last year’s general election.

It includes 14 county councils, all but two of which have been Conservative-controlled, as well as eight unitary authorities, all but one of which are Tory.

Ms Badenoch has set expectations low for the Tories, suggesting they could lose all the councils they are contesting.

The last time this set of councils were up for election was in 2021, when the Conservative Party was led by Boris Johnson who was riding high from the COVID vaccine bounce.

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Counter-terrorism police investigating after two women injured in Leeds

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Counter-terrorism police investigating after two women injured in Leeds

Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.

Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.

Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.

The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.

Officers guard one of the crime scenes in Leeds
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Officers guard one of the crime scenes

Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Image:
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds

Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.

“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.

“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”

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