Met officer remanded in custody after ‘emphatically denying’ rape charge

4 October 2021, 11:47 | Updated: 4 October 2021, 12:32

A Met Police officer accused of raping a woman he met on dating app Tinder has been remanded in custody.

Pc David Carrick "emphatically denies" assaulting the woman after the pair went for drinks in St Albans, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard this morning.

Carrick is alleged to have taken the woman, who he met on the dating app in August last year, back to a Premier Inn after visiting two pubs in the Hertfordshire town.

The alleged attack is said to have taken place the following morning.

He appeared in court via videolink today from a police station in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. Wearing a white collared shirt, he spoke only to confirm his identity.

Carrick, 46, who is currently suspended from duty, is next due to appear at St Albans Crown Court on 1 November.

Carrick, who is based within the Met's Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, was charged with rape by Hertfordshire Constabulary on Sunday.

The alleged offence is reported to have occurred on 4 September last year, when he was off-duty.

Carrick had been arrested on Saturday and was suspended by the Met on the same day.

Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said she was "deeply concerned" to hear of the charge, adding "criminal proceedings must now take their course".

Boris Johnson said this morning he could not comment on the case.

The prime minister told broadcasters: "First of all, on the case you mention, it is an ongoing case, somebody has been charged, I can't comment on the detail of that. That will clearly have to go through [the courts]."