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John Worboys- An open letter to the Probation Service from lawyer for abuse victims

Slater and Gordon specialist abuse lawyer Richard Scorer wrote to the Probation Service after it emerged the licence conditions for black cab rapist John Worboys were not discussed with his victims. Worboys is due to be released from jail after serving just 10 years for a series of rapes. In an open letter we call for the victims to be consulted and for Worboys to be banned from entering Greater London and contacting any of his victims. 

 

Here is our letter in full:

 

Re: John Worboys: VERY URGENT

 

We write on behalf of a client, on whose behalf we have acted previously in relation to John Worboys, and by whom we are now instructed in relation to this correspondence and matters arising. We also write on behalf of a number of alleged victims of John Worboys, all of whom have previously provided statements to the police in relation to their allegations; we can provide a list of those individuals on request.

 

We understand that our client has spoken to you today and you have advised her that the parole and probation services will be finalising John Worboys’s license conditions tomorrow, and that if she wishes to make any representations within this process she should do so “urgently”. We wish , firstly, to make clear our client’s grave concern that no prior notification has been provided to proven victims (and indeed to the many further alleged victims) in this case regarding any opportunity to make representations in regard to licence conditions. As a matter of routine all those with an interest in this matter should be properly notified and consulted, and we request formally that all proven and alleged victims are now given the opportunity to make formal representations, and are given a realistic and reasonable time in which to do so following notification.

 

Without prejudice to that request, we confirm that as a matter of urgency and for present purposes our clients seek at least the following licence conditions:

 

• Exclusion from the Greater London area. As you will be aware, the large majority of Worboy’s proven and alleged victims lived in Greater London. In many cases, he is known to have recorded their addresses and, although the police retrieved one notebook in which these addresses are recorded, there can be no certainty that Worboys has not retained the information elsewhere, particularly as (due to police failings in the investigation of the allegations originally) he was arrested and then later released by police, and thus had forewarning of police interest in his activities. On this basis our clients have a real and justified fear that he will know their home addresses.

 

• An express condition that he cannot approach any proven or alleged victim under any circumstances. The suggestion in the letter to our client that he cannot approach a victim without agreement of a supervisor suggests there might be circumstances in which agreement would be granted, yet it is inconceivable that any circumstances could arise in which it would be appropriate for Worboys to approach ant proven or alleged victim. Given this, the licence conditions should state this explicitly.

Please confirm receipt of this letter and if our representations at this stage need to be directed elsewhere, please confirm where.