Mayor of Greater Manchester: Allegation of sexual assault in police custody will be independently investigated

The Mayor of Manchester has announced that he will appoint a lawyer to investigate allegations that women have been attacked in custody.

Andy Burnham said Dame Vera Baird KC, a former victims’ commissioner, would investigate the allegations, Sky News has announced.

Mr Burnham said: “We will ask them to look at the care provided to people in these cases and consider what further issues this might raise for accommodation in Greater Manchester.”

“So we will also seek independent assurance from Dame Vera Baird to respond to the issues raised because obviously there are three cases here that raise very real concerns.”

He added: “I am pleased that she has accepted our invitation for discussions on how she can give us assurances here or raise questions that need to be addressed.”

“I believe this is the right response at this level to give that reassurance to the wider public and particularly to the women of Greater Manchester.”

His comments come in response to revelations from a Sky News investigation in which three women alleged they had been abused in custody.

“I was stripped and left topless in a cell, drugged and sexually assaulted by Greater Manchester Police”

Zayna Iman, 38, who waives her right to anonymity, claims she was drugged and sexually assaulted while in custody at Greater Manchester Police (GMP).

“Instead of providing medical attention to an unconscious woman, they thought, ‘I know, let’s take off her clothes and leave her there instead,'” Ms Iman said.

“It’s just something the police do for their own perverse thrill.”

Dame Vera Baird KC told Sky News that Ms Iman’s case “should first be fully investigated as a crime”.

She added that the details of the allegations “obviously preoccupied the women of Manchester”.

Two other women also reported being abused.

Kirsty (not her real name) believes officers targeted her because she made complaints against the police for failing to investigate allegations of sexual abuse against her sister.

Kirsty is accused of blackmail by the alleged abuser. She says she was strip-searched and is convinced it was all about “power”.

“These were police officers trying to exert their power … to silence me, to scare me, to show that we are the boss, not you,” she said. Police say her clothes were removed for animal welfare reasons.

Maria (also not her real name) claims she was strip-searched when she was arrested for malicious communications – she was accused of swearing at police during a phone call – after her partner was detained on suspicion of domestic violence against her and she went to the station to collect her keys.

GMP said they thought she might have been hiding an e-cigarette.

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A GMP spokesman said: “GMP is aware that these three individuals are unhappy with the service they received when they were arrested and detained. Their complaints have been and are being investigated by the police.”

“Although an investigation is ongoing, there is currently no evidence that GMP staff have behaved badly or committed a criminal offence.

“As defined in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, two of these individuals were not strip searched. Out of concern for their welfare, they were stripped of their clothes and replaced with tear-resistant clothing – this process is subject to other laws and guidelines.”