Zayna Iman: Woman allegedly raped in police custody says ‘sex offenders are still serving as officers’

Published

2 years ago

September 7, 2023

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Zayna Iman is demanding answers, six weeks after claiming on Sky News she was raped in a police cell in Manchester.

Police statements released since the report was broadcast appear to contradict things officers have said previously, and crucial footage of Zayna’s time in custody remains missing.

A Sky News report in July featured three women, including Zayna, who claimed they’d been unnecessarily strip-searched by officers. Zayna alleges she was also drugged and raped in custody in February 2021.

Exercising her right to see the footage of her time in the cell she discovered that two hours of the cell footage were missing.

There are conflicting accounts from the police about what’s happened to it.

Investigation into GMP launched

Since our investigation was broadcast in July, an inquiry under Dame Vera Baird has been launched into Greater Manchester Police (GMP), and Zayna’s case has been referred back to the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Last week she met Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham.

But outside the mayor’s office, Zayna described the whole thing as “lip service”, saying she wouldn’t be happy until police officers are interviewed and held to account.

She said: “I’m not happy with the responses. Why do these people not understand that sex offenders are still serving.”

‘Unbelievable memories and bad dreams’

At times emotion overwhelmed her as she explained that each time she recounts her story it is stirring the memories, the flashbacks, the bad dreams that she says still haunt her from the 48 hours in Pendleton police station – most of which she spent naked in a cell.

She said: “I don’t talk about my memories, and the reason I don’t talk about my memories – because I don’t want to believe them myself. It would be far easier if Greater Manchester’s narrative of me was right.”

GMP say there’s currently no evidence of criminality or misconduct by officers.

Contradictions over corrupt cell CCTV

Zayna has already spent more than two years asking for all the footage relating to her detainment but only after our report was broadcast in July did GMP explain in a public statement that Zayna’s footage was stored on discs but “one disc corrupted” and the “parent footage on the servers had been overwritten.”

They are now trying to forensically recover the missing two hours.

Zayna has never been given this information.

“They were able to tell the media that they corrupted my disc, but you can’t tell me?” she says in disbelief.

In fact, she was told quite the opposite.

Two years ago, the mayor’s office confirmed in a letter to Zayna that GMP said they’d reviewed all the custody footage and “did not find evidence to support the allegations.” There was no mention of corrupted footage.

GMP repeated the claim in a letter to Zayna last year, saying “urgent actions” were taken which included “reviewing the CCTV footage from the cell you were detained in.”

How could they do that if some of it was corrupted?

We asked Manchester’s Deputy Mayor in charge of Policing, Kate Green, who was also baffled by the inconsistency.

She said: “You are quite right that initially the deputy mayor’s office was assured that the whole footage was available, and it has turned out subsequently that that is not the case – and I think we can expect Dame Vera in the course of her inquiries to comment on how footage is handled.”

Strip-searched at 14

Since our report Sky News has spoken to more women impacted by police strip searches, including Scarlett, 18, who says she was “humiliated” during a strip search at the aged of 14 in Greater Manchester.

Scarlett, who was arrested but not charged with any crime, claims the search was conducted because they thought she might have concealed an e-cigarette.

She told Sky News: “They just said take your clothes off – keep your knickers and bra on. They were searching in my toes, in my waistline, the waistband of my knickers – making me pull my bra up to see if anything dropped out.

“I was young. I didn’t want anyone to see my body at that age, especially strangers.”

Scarlett said she wasn’t offered the attendance of a responsible adult – which she is entitled to under the regulations governing police strip searches of minors, and although female officers conducted the search, she said there was a glass door that a male officer on the desk could see through.

Scarlett said: “There’s nothing you can do. They’re the police. Who do you go to when the police are doing that to you?

“They know full well that they’re in charge – the way I see it, once you go through them custody doors, you know as soon as the van pulls in and those shutters go down, the tension – you can just feel it – it changes completely.”

Detective Chief Superintendent Mike Allen said: “When in police care in custody, people can and should expect to be treated with care and dignity, and within approved guidelines.

“Unfortunately this report does not sound like these values were reflected in the young woman’s experience.

“I thank Sky News for bringing this concerning complaint to GMP’s attention.

“The young woman has not previously made the Professional Standards Branch aware of this issue and so we have made contact with her to ensure her complaint is formally recorded so it can be appropriately progressed.”

Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods said: “Greater Manchester Police welcomes the Independent Office for Police Conduct and Dame Vera Baird’s investigation of Miss Iman’s case and reviewing the force’s custody processes and procedures.

“It is really important that any answers now come from those appointed and entrusted to have independent oversight.

“Whilst GMP is fully supporting their investigation and review, the force will not be commenting publicly until their findings have been published and we have engaged directly with those affected.”

Stripped ‘without justification’

While police have the right to search for contraband items such as weapons or drugs, the three women we featured in our original report said they were stripped without justification – one of them completely naked and asked to spread her legs because, again, police were looking for a vape.

More worrying stories are emerging. Scarlett’s is one of several new cases Sky News is passing on to the inquiry.

Abuse victims’ charity, the Maggie Oliver Foundation, have told us they are taking five other women to meet the inquiry chair this week.

Ms Oliver, a former GMP whistle-blower, said: “We are happy that actual survivors are being heard in person, rather than filtered through an internal complaints procedure which is unfit for purpose.

“We would like to see this review widened from looking at just a few individual cases where these specific victims have been failed to look at the whole complaints system.

“We believe complaints must be taken out of GMP control and taken control of by truly independent outsiders whose aim isn’t to protect the organisation but rather to improve a broken system and restore public trust.”

UK

Four charged after £7m of damage caused to aircraft at RAF Brize Norton

Published

3 hours ago

July 2, 2025

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Four charged after £7m of damage caused to aircraft at RAF Brize Norton

Four people have been charged after £7m of damage was caused to two Voyager aircraft at RAF Brize Norton.

The investigation into the incident early on Friday 20 June was led by counter-terror police.

They have been charged with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK – and conspiracy to commit criminal damage.

The four charged have been identified as:

• Amy Gardiner-Gibson, 29, of no fixed abode

• Daniel Jeronymides-Norie, 35, from London

• Jony Cink, 24, of no fixed abode

• Lewie Chiaramello, 22, from London

They will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court later today.

A 41-year-old woman arrested last week on suspicion of assisting an offender has been released on bail until 19 September.

Meanwhile, a 23-year-old man detained on Saturday was released without charge.

Last month’s incident at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire was claimed by the activist group Palestine Action.

Yesterday, MPs voted to proscribe the group as a terrorist organisation.

The legislation passed with 385 MPs voting in favour, while 26 were against.

UK

No 10 backs Chancellor Rachel Reeves and says she ‘is going nowhere’ after tearful appearance in Commons

Published

11 hours ago

July 2, 2025

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No 10 backs Chancellor Rachel Reeves and says she 'is going nowhere' after tearful appearance in Commons

Rachel Reeves has not offered her resignation and is “going nowhere”, Downing Street has said, following her tearful appearance in the House of Commons.

A Number 10 spokesperson said the chancellor had the “full backing” of Sir Keir Starmer, despite Ms Reeves looking visibly upset during Prime Minister’s Questions.

Politics latest: ‘A moment of intense peril’ for PM

A spokesperson for the chancellor later clarified that Ms Reeves had been affected by a “personal matter” and would be working out of Downing Street this afternoon.

Politics latest: Reeves looks visibly upset in Commons

UK government bond prices fell by the most since October 2022, and the pound tumbled after Ms Reeves’s Commons appearance, while the yield on the 10-year government bond, or gilt, rose as much as 22 basis points at one point to around 4.68%.

Downing Street’s insistence came despite Sir Keir refusing to guarantee that Ms Reeves would stay as chancellor until the next election following the fallout from the government’s recent welfare U-turn.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch branded the chancellor the “human shield” for the prime minister’s “incompetence” just hours after he was forced to perform a humiliating U-turn over his controversial welfare bill.

Emotional Reeves a painful watch – and reminder of tough decisions ahead

It is hard to think of a PMQs like it – it was a painful watch.

The prime minister battled on, his tone assured, even if his actual words were not always convincing.

But it was the chancellor next to him that attracted the most attention.

Rachel Reeves looked visibly upset.

It is hard to know for sure right now what was going on behind the scenes, the reasons – predictable or otherwise – why she appeared to be emotional, but it was noticeable and it was difficult to watch.

Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Ms Badenoch said: “This man has forgotten that his welfare bill was there to plug a black hole created by the chancellor. Instead they’re creating new ones.”

Turning to the chancellor, the Tory leader added: “[She] is pointing at me – she looks absolutely miserable.

“Labour MPs are going on the record saying that the chancellor is toast, and the reality is that she is a human shield for his incompetence. In January, he said that she would be in post until the next election. Will she really?”

Not fully answering the question, the prime minister replied: “[Ms Badenoch] certainly won’t.

“I have to say, I’m always cheered up when she asks me questions or responds to a statement because she always makes a complete mess of it and shows just how unserious and irrelevant they are.”

Mrs Badenoch interjected: “How awful for the chancellor that he couldn’t confirm that she would stay in place.”

The prime minister’s watered-down Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill, aimed at saving £5bn, was backed by a majority of 75 in a tense vote on Tuesday evening.

A total of 49 Labour MPs voted against the bill – the largest rebellion in a prime minister’s first year in office since 47 MPs voted against Tony Blair’s Lone Parent benefit in 1997, according to Professor Phil Cowley from Queen Mary University.

After multiple concessions made due to threats of a Labour rebellion, many MPs questioned what they were voting for as the bill had been severely stripped down.

They ended up voting for only one part of the plan: a cut to Universal Credit (UC) sickness benefits for new claimants from £97 a week to £50 from 2026/7.

Ms Badenoch said the climbdown was proof that Sir Keir was “too weak to get anything done”.

Ms Reeves has also borne a lot of the criticism over the handling of the vote, with some MPs believing that her strict approach to fiscal rules has meant she has approached the ballooning welfare bill from the standpoint of trying to make savings, rather than getting people into work.

Experts have now warned that the welfare U-turn, on top of reversing the cut to winter fuel, means that tax rises in the autumn are more likely – with Ms Reeves now needing to find £5bn to make up for the policy U-turns.

Asked by Ms Badenoch whether he could rule out further tax rises – something Labour promised it would not do on working people in its manifesto – Sir Keir said: “She knows that no prime minister or chancellor ever stands at the despatch box and writes budgets in the future.

“But she talks about growth, for 14 years we had stagnation, and that is what caused the problem.”

UK

Prosecutors consider more charges against Lucy Letby

Published

14 hours ago

July 2, 2025

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Prosecutors consider more charges against Lucy Letby

Prosecutors are considering whether to bring further criminal charges against Lucy Letby over the deaths of babies at two hospitals where she worked

The Crown Prosecution Service said it had received “a full file of evidence from Cheshire Constabulary asking us to consider further allegations in relation to deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital”.

“We will now carefully consider the evidence to determine whether any further criminal charges should be brought,” it added.

“As always, we will make that decision independently, based on the evidence and in line with our legal test.”

Letby, 35, was found guilty of murdering seven children and attempting to murder seven more between June 2015 and June 2016 while working in the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital and is currently serving 15 whole-life orders.

She is understood to have carried out two work placements at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, where she trained as a student, between October and December 2012, and January and February 2015.

Police said in December that Letby was interviewed in prison as part of an investigation into more baby deaths and non-fatal collapses.

A Cheshire Constabulary spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Cheshire Constabulary has submitted a full file of evidence to the CPS for charging advice regarding the ongoing investigation into deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the neo-natal units of both the Countess of Chester Hospital and the Liverpool Women’s Hospital as part of Operation Hummingbird.”

Detectives previously said the investigation was looking into the full period of time that Letby worked as a nurse, covering the period from 2012 to 2016 and including a review of 4,000 admissions of babies.

Letby’s lawyer Mark McDonald said: “The evidence of the innocence of Lucy Letby is overwhelming,” adding: “We will cross every bridge when we get to it but if Lucy is charged I know we have a whole army of internationally renowned medical experts who will totally undermine the prosecution’s unfounded allegations.”

On Tuesday, it was confirmed that three managers at the Countess of Chester hospital had been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in a separate investigation.

Police said the suspects, who occupied senior positions at the hospital between 2015 and 2016, have all been bailed pending further inquiries.

There is also an investigation into corporate manslaughter at the hospital, which began in October 2023.

A public inquiry has also been examining the hospital’s response to concerns raised about Letby before her arrest.

In May, it was announced the inquiry’s final report into how the former nurse was able to commit her crimes will now be published early next year.

Earlier this year, Letby’s lawyers called for the suspension of the inquiry, claiming there was “overwhelming and compelling evidence” that her convictions were unsafe.

In February, an international panel of neonatologists and paediatric specialists told reporters that poor medical care and natural causes were the reasons for the collapses and deaths.

Their evidence has been passed to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, and Letby’s legal team hopes her case will be referred back to the Court of Appeal.