Statement by Rokhsana Fiaz OBE, Mayor of Newham
On Tuesday 22 August, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) issued a statement about Adam Provan, the former Met Police officer who was jailed for 16 years for the shocking crimes of two counts of rape against a teenage girl in 2010 and six counts of rape against a female police officer between 2003 and 2005. All the while he was a serving police officer, and worryingly he was a police officer in Newham between August 2003 and April 2005.
I am sickened by the horror of what he had done and his abuse of power. Reading the statement issued by the Met Police, it is clear that there have been many allegations of sexual and abusive behaviour made against Provan made by a number of women and girls from at least 2003. But Provan was only initially arrested in 2016 for raping teenager Lauren Taylor, who is now 29-years old and has waived her right to anonymity. He was charged in 2017, convicted and jailed for 9 years in 2018; finally being dismissed from the Met Police in 2019. However, he appealed his convictions which were quashed in 2022. It led to a retrial in May that year and the case against Provan included six new counts of rape against a female police officer who was working at Forest Gate Police station at the same time as him.
While he has finally been found guilty and sentenced last week, it’s taken nearly 7-years to convict him and get some semblance of justice for the women he raped. There is also one more case involving another woman that is waiting a charging decision by the CPS. I am worried that there may be other women and girls in our borough who have suffered because Provan worked in Newham for 2 years. Anyone with information can call the Met Police’s Anti-Corruption and Abuse Hotline, run by the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 085 0000 or via an online form.
The unspeakable acts perpetrated by a former serving Met Police officer will send shock waves amongst women and girls in our borough and in the wider community. The safety of women and girls in our borough is a priority for me personally, and as the Mayor of Newham I will be unrelenting in my focus to make our borough safe for them and you can read about how we are prioritising the safety of women and girls.
The heinous crimes committed by a former serving police officer once again raises profound questions about trust in our Met Police and our criminal justice system, undermining the principal of policing by consent also. It reinforces the urgency required in implementing the recommendations of the Baroness Casey Review into the MPS, published in March this year. Her report found severe institutional failings across the entirety of the MPS, calling for radical reform of the MPS as it is entrenched with racism, sexism and homophobia; failing women and children and undermining how our communities are policed in London.
That’s why I’ll continue to hold our police in Newham to account and ensure that they instil the trust and confidence that our women and girls demand for the sake of everyone in our community. Right now, I want to honour the bravery of Lauren Taylor and the female police officer who came forward with courage to tell their stories. They have some justice at last despite the unimaginable horror this monster caused them.
