Detective accuses the Met of re‑traumatising her, calling the force’s response a second assault.
Detective Constable Linda Williams has spoken publicly about the way the Metropolitan Police treated her claim that a fellow officer raped her in 2004. She describes the institutional process as re-traumatising, saying it felt “like being raped all over again.” Her testimony adds a new layer to a scandal that already includes the murder of Sarah Everard and the mishandling of other gender-based crimes.
In 2004, while on a three-month attachment in south London, Williams was assaulted by PC David Carrick. Carrick, later identified as a serial sexual predator, was sentenced to life imprisonment in January 2023 for offences against Williams and eleven other women.
At the time of the assault, Williams was a rape investigation officer, a role that gave her intimate knowledge of victim support procedures – a fact she says only heightened the sense of betrayal when she could not report the crime without fearing career ruin.
Background of the attack and legal proceedings
Williams recounts that Carrick invited her to stay at his home after a late-night shift, promising a short rest before an early return. She refused, and he responded, “It’s what I do. I’m going to carry on.” The assault occurred that night, and she never disclosed the event to anyone for years, fearing the boys’ club culture of the force would label her a trouble-maker.
When Carrick was finally brought to justice by Hertfordshire Police, the case was reopened after Williams learned of his charge in another rape. She filed a civil claim against the Met in 2021, alleging the force failed to protect her from a colleague and that its internal climate prevented her from reporting the offence. The lawsuit stretched over four years, during which Williams received a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Met’s response and the civil lawsuit
The Metropolitan Police issued a statement claiming it “tried to reduce further distress and re-traumatisation to DC Williams’ welfare” and that it acted “as quickly and compassionately as possible.” Yet, during the proceedings, the force’s legal team questioned the severity of her PTSD on the premise that she had been raped only once. Documents obtained by the BBC show the Met argued that the “abuse itself was isolated to a single episode,” a line that Williams found “horrifying” and “like being raped all over again.”
PTSD assessment contested
Williams’ solicitor, Sophie Bullimore of Penningtons Manches Cooper, highlighted that the Met’s approach reduced a lifetime of trauma to a single incident on paper. The force even suggested her continued exemplary performance at work indicated “no signs of psychological trauma.” In reality, Williams says her PTSD is “90% down to the Met Police, 10% to Carrick,” underscoring how institutional neglect can amplify personal harm.
After a prolonged battle, the civil case was settled in early 2023, with the Metropolitan Police paying compensation while refusing to accept liability. The settlement, however, did not bring the closure Williams sought, prompting her to waive anonymity and call for Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley’s resignation.
Calls for leadership change and broader cultural critique
When Sir Mark Rowley assumed the commissioner’s role in 2022, he pledged to overhaul a force already in crisis after the Everard murder and the circulation of graphic images of victims Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman. After Carrick’s life sentence, Rowley publicly apologised, stating, “We have failed and I’m sorry. He should not have been a police officer.” Yet, a May 2022 report by Baroness Casey described the Met as a “boys’ club” that is “institutionally misogynistic” and has repeatedly failed women.
Williams argues that despite these acknowledgements, the cultural shift promised by Rowley has been superficial. She says she would still not report a rape to the Met today because she has “no faith” that the force would handle it correctly. Her call for Rowley to step down is rooted in the belief that the current leadership lacks the empathy and resolve needed to dismantle entrenched misogyny.
Williams, now 60, describes a personal life marked by isolation, a focus on work and pets, and an absence of romantic relationships since the assault. She attributes much of that void to the lingering impact of the attack and the institutional failure to protect her. While some colleagues have offered support, she contends that senior management’s response has been inadequate, reinforcing a sense that the Met remains more concerned with public image than with genuine victim care.
Her story has reignited public debate over police accountability, survivor support, and the urgency of cultural reform within one of the United Kingdom’s most high-profile law-enforcement bodies. By speaking out, Williams hopes to encourage other victims—whether police officers, staff, or members of the public—to come forward, even as she remains skeptical that the current commissioner can steer the Met toward the change she believes is essential.
