England: GP falsely accused of rape by ‘serial fantasist’ not entitled to reimbursement of legal costs

Dr Stephen Glascoe, 67, from Cardiff, spent most of his savings on his defence.

The woman who made the allegations against him and other men has been given £22,000 in criminal injuries compensation and has requested more.

Charges against Dr Glascoe and four others were dropped in January this year, two weeks before trial, after concerns were raised about the complainant’s relationship with her therapist and the police officer who led the case.

Dr Glascoe spent more than £100,000 on lawyers as well as expert witnesses. However, he will only be given £7,280 from the Legal Aid Board and absolutely no contribution to the cost of his barrister.

The complainant was given £22,000 from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority after she contacted South Wales police in 2012. However, she later refused to co-operate with them.

In 2016 she made further allegations about being abused between the ages of three and 15 and claimed she had a pregnancy forcibly aborted and was made to torture other children.

She has also applied for more compensation.

Christopher Clee QC applied for Dr Glascoe’s funds to be reimbursed since the charges were the result of an “improper act or omission” by prosecutors.

He said the prosecution should have been made aware of the poor credibility of the complainant by notes from 229 counselling sessions as well as her inappropriately close relationship with the detective investigating the allegations.

Mr Clee added that while prosecutors had demanded to see the notes, which made clear the therapist “had exceeded any professional boundaries”, having given the woman the idea she had been raped by five men, a senior police officer insisted on a “victim-centric position”.

The judge dismissed Dr Glascoe’s costs application, saying he would have to prove no reasonable prosecution would have brought the charges, adding that the decision was “in line with enlightened modern practice”.