Adam Provan: Suitability questioned years before rape convictions

The Metropolitan Police is reviewing the full history of a former officer who has been convicted of raping a colleague and a teenage girl.

Adam Provan, 44, from Newmarket, Suffolk, was jailed for 16 years on Tuesday for eight counts of rape.

The force is looking to determine if he could have been caught sooner.

He was convicted of six counts of raping a Met officer between 2003 and 2005, followed by Lauren Taylor, who was 16 when he raped her twice in 2010.

The offences were all committed while he was a serving officer at Newham and Barking and Dagenham, before he was dismissed from the Met in March 2019.

Lauren Taylor, now aged 29 and who has waived her right to anonymity, spoke to the BBC following Provan's sentencing to tell of her painful ordeal in bringing Provan to justice and to encourage others to come forward.

Provan was sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court to 16 years, extended on licence to 24 years, in recognition of the danger he poses.

The Met says it is working to identify more victims and would encourage anyone with information to come forward. It is also reviewing his full career history to determine whether earlier action could have been taken.

Another concern relates to the 751 female names found on Provan's phone, which had derogatory comments alongside, some suggesting sexual activity with them.

Just 50 had phone numbers associated with them, and work is now under way to identify as many of the women as possible.

 

 

Former chief superintendent in the Met Police, Dal Babu, said the investigation would need the utmost scrutiny.

He said: "I think we need to know that the Met is going to treat the allegations very seriously but I think equally important is that the Met needs to go back to every single case this officer has attended and look at, did he abuse his position? Did he try and have relationships? Did he sexually assault any of the woman who had called police and wanted their support?"

The Met has released a detailed timeline of Provan's career - shedding light on other incidents now under review.

Provan was previously jailed for nine years for Lauren's rape, but had his conviction quashed

2003

Provan began his police training in February 2003 after his vetting was successful.

Three months later, in May, an allegation of sexual touching was made against him by a 15-year-old who was referred to as "Girl 1".

Provan was interviewed under caution on 19 September when no further action was taken, following liaison with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

On 26 September, concerns were raised by two members of the public about Provan's suitability to be a police officer, referencing his overly violent and sexualised behaviour while growing up.

Provan was referred to occupational health professionals.

2005

In January 2005, "Woman 1" - a serving female police officer who was one of Provan's victims - spoke to her line manager to allege that she was harassed by him.

Although a crime report was created, she was talked out of pursuing the matter for the sake of her own career.

Provan was warned about his behaviour and told not to contact her directly.

Also that month, he received a written warning for leaving a station office unmanned.

In May of that year, he moved to a response team at Barking and Dagenham.

One month later - in June - it was alleged that the officer had contacted a 16-year-old girl beyond what was required of her as a witness to a crime.

There appears to be no professional standards involvement at the time, and this is now being reviewed by the Met.

In October, Provan's phone number was linked to nuisance calls that were being received by a serving female officer. According to the Met, this was dealt with informally.

 

2009

In May 2009, Provan emailed "Woman 1" and asked to meet her. A manager told her to ignore the message and consider taking out an injunction.

"Woman 1", who is still a Met employee, says she was contacted by Provan on multiple occasions between 2005 and 2009. This is now being reviewed.

2010

Aged 31, Adam Provan invited 16-year-old Lauren Taylor out on a date to the cinema. He claimed to be a 22-year-old police officer.

He drove the teenager to a country park and raped her in woodland and in a children's playground even though she repeatedly said no.

Ms Taylor did not make a complaint to the police for several years.

2013

In July 2013, Provan met a 17-year-old - referred to as "Girl 2" - after a crime had been alleged.

The teenager expressed a desire to join the police, and Provan took her on a drive in a marked car.

She went on to become a serving officer in the Met.

2014

In January 2014, a woman reported that a phone number had been pushed through her letterbox.

Two years later, when Provan was arrested, intelligence checks revealed the number was his.

The Met has confirmed this incident was also being reviewed.

2015

Provan passed another vetting process.

The Met says this is being scrutinised because the types of checks undertaken in both 2003 and 2015 were not as robust as they are now.

2016

In June 2016, Provan was arrested for the rape of Ms Taylor.

He was placed on restricted duties to have no face-to-face contact with the public.

Lauren was only 16 when Met officer Adam Provan raped her

2017

In April 2017, "Girl 2" alleged she was raped several times by Provan. He was suspended by the Met Police.

In July of that year, he was charged with rape offences against Ms Taylor - as well as "Girl 1" and "Girl 2". The trials were split.

Provan was cleared of the sexual touching of "Girl 1", while "Girl 2" withdrew from the proceedings a year later because she was unhappy with the support she had been given. She subsequently resigned from the Met Police.

The first trial in relation to Ms Taylor was a hung jury.

2018

A retrial over the allegations made by Ms Taylor was held in November 2018. Provan was found guilty of rape and jailed for nine years.

2019

Provan was dismissed from the Met, and added to the barred list held by the College of Policing in March 2019.

That month, "Woman 1" made formal allegations of rape.

She did not have the confidence to do this sooner because the allegations of abuse and harassment made to her managers in 2005 were not taken seriously.

 

2022

Provan was released from prison in February 2022 following an appeal against his conviction.

2023

In February, "Woman 2" alleged that Provan sexually assaulted her when she was 17 years old.

This case is currently with the CPS for a charging decision.

In May, following a third trial, Provan was convicted of raping Ms Taylor and "Woman 1," one of his colleagues in the Met - on multiple occasions.

He was jailed for 16 years with another eight years on extended licence.