Former police watchdog chief from Surrey denies rape

Author: Helen William, PAPublished 19th Mar 2024

The former head of the police watchdog has pleaded not guilty to raping and indecently assaulting a girl aged under 16.

Michael Lockwood, 65, of Epsom, Surrey, denied three counts of rape and six counts of indecent assault when he appeared at the Old Bailey on Monday.

The offences were allegedly committed between October 1985 and March 1986.

Lockwood is due to face a three-week trial starting at the Old Bailey on July 1 before a High Court judge.

He had stepped down as director-general at the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in December 2022 after it emerged he was the subject of a police probe into historical allegations of sexual abuse.

He was the first director-general appointed to lead the IOPC when it replaced the Independent Police Complaints Commission in 2018.

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