A woman groomed by a predatory police officer who previously worked in the same unit as killer rapist Wayne Couzens, has received an apology from the Metropolitan Police after force chiefs attempted to ‘victim’ blame her and spread false information about her mental health instead of launching an investigating. Former PC Phil Hunter, 60, was eventually found to have committed gross misconduct after pursuing inappropriate relationships with two vulnerable women who he met during welfare checks. Hunter, who had worked in the Met’s Diplomatic Protection unit where Sarah Everard’s killer Couzens also worked, resigned before being fired.

Hunter had sex with the first woman, who he met when she was suicidal, and sent her an explicit photograph days after she threatened to hang herself - before asking her for a naked picture. The panel heard she tried to kill herself as a result of the officer’s actions. The second woman, who uses the pseudonym Lorraine, was also highly vulnerable when he gave her his personal phone number and pursued an inappropriate relationship the panel ruled was for sexual gain.

Lorraine accused the Met of trying to discredit her over her complaints against PC Phil Hunter, whom she met when he made a welfare visit to her home in 2017.

In a letter seen by the BBC, Acting Det Ch Supt Neil Smithson, who leads the Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS), apologised for “a series of failings” over a seven-year period.

In a subsequent statement Det Supt Smithson confirmed he had corresponded with Lorraine on a number of occasions.

He said: “I do not underestimate the effect that this matter has had on this victim... I want to be clear, it is unacceptable for any officer to abuse their position of trust and I would like to acknowledge and apologise for the distress this has caused.”

PC Hunter was branded a “sexual predator who used his position to take advantage of vulnerable women”.

The letter, seen by the BBC, states that “victim-blaming has occurred towards you by members of the Metropolitan Police and this is not acceptable”.

Lorraine said she found the details “shocking”.

She said she had always suspected her complaints had not been investigated because the Met incorrectly believed she had poor mental health.

She said: “I tried to report him over and over again and they completely ignored me and I now know why. To actually see it in black and white is just horrendous.”

The disciplinary panel heard that, over a period of two years, PC Hunter sent Lorraine inappropriate messages, and tried to isolate her from friends and family, as part of a “deliberate” and “predatory” plan to lure her into a sexual relationship.

PC Hunter retired in 2019, while under investigation for a case involving the first vulnerable woman whom he had met during a welfare visit, and with whom he had started a sexual relationship.

He was found guilty of gross misconduct a year later for his behaviour towards her.

Yet despite the DPS being aware that PC Hunter had already targeted another victim in similar circumstances, Lorraine's complaints were ignored.

The letter from the DPS admits her initial allegations were not recorded and were “not given the weight that they should have been”, and that it took her “numerous attempts over a period of 18 months” before officers investigated.

It says decisions may have been influenced by the belief that Lorraine was suffering from mental health issues, which it conceded “did not have basis in fact”.

The DPS's letter also reveals that inaccurate information had been recorded about Lorraine on police systems, which were not updated when she provided the force with new information.

Instead, the information was repeatedly shared with others over the following seven years.

A senior officer told social services that he believed Lorraine had mental health issues, and tried to contact her GP without her consent.

The Met also incorrectly told external agencies that Lorraine had fabricated some allegations, and defamatory information about her was passed by a third party to her GP.

Lorraine said she was deeply concerned that the Met appeared to suggest it might decide not to investigate allegations against predatory officers on the basis that the alleged victim had a mental health problem.

She added: “Surely predators are more drawn to vulnerable people with mental health issues than people that can stand up to them, so it makes no sense to me. Surely they would investigate that more, not less, had it been true?

“What about other women who've come forward who do have a mental health issue of some

Lorraine says her case means she no longer has faith in promises to reform the Met and to take action against rogue officers

Lorraine also claims she was left more vulnerable to PC Hunter's behaviour because he had been able to discover information about her case from other police officers after leaving the force.

“He knew the Met were treating anything I said with contempt. I was terrified of him, absolutely terrified of him,” she said.

“He knew so much about me, from police station gossip: where I was, where I was going, who I was seeing. He knew everything about me.”

The letter from the DPS apologises if information about Lorraine was discussed between officers without a legitimate policing purpose.

Lorraine’s experience was highlighted among the case studies in the damning review by Baroness Casey in March 2023, which said that Lorraine, referred to as "M", had been “traumatised” by both PC Hunter and her treatment by the DPS.

The review found the Met was institutionally misogynist, and called for urgent reforms including to the misconduct system.

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has previously highlighted the issue of the number of rogue officers being brought before the courts and disciplinary tribunals. He described his intent to deal with the problem as “the strongest doubling down on standards for 50 years”.

Officers have been redeployed from counter-terrorism and serious and organised crime to boost numbers at the DPS to focus on investigating complaints, according to the Met.

But Lorraine insisted: “They have learnt nothing since Baroness Casey's review. They had ample opportunity just to come forward and say, 'Do you know what, we got it wrong, this is what we did, we're sorry,' but they didn't.”