A former senior police officer accused of describing rape allegations as “regretful sex” will not face disciplinary proceedings, a watchdog has ruled.

Ex-Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner Sir Stephen House was accused of making the comment by a Home Office adviser, but strongly denied the claim and said he must have been misheard.

Professor Betsy Stanko alleged he had described the bulk of rape allegations as regretful sex during a meeting in January 2022.

Sir Stephen House in his days at Police Scotland's Chief Constable. Picture: PA

Ms Stanko and another academic were presenting research findings to four senior Met officers and a force employee as part of Operation Soteria, a government project to improve the police response to rape and other sexual offences. No written minutes were made of the meeting and the academic only made the claims more than a year later during a television interview.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) watchdog said it had also looked at allegations that Sir Stephen had said rape and serious sexual assault were not equivalent to serious violent crime, and used the term “bog of domestics” during a discussion about the overlap between domestic abuse and sexual crimes.

It said one of the seven people at the meeting had taken notes and no reference was made to any of the comments claimed to have been made.

No-one else at the meeting – described as “spiky” and “hard-hitting” – recalled Sir Stephen making the alleged comments comparing serious sexual and violent crimes, or the bog of domestics remark. He accepted he may have used the phrase regretful sex but in a different context, when questioning the researchers’ findings.

The IOPC said there was no indication he had breached standards of professional behaviour.

IOPC director Amanda Rowe said: “We investigated the allegations thoroughly but faced difficulties as, given the delay in the allegations being raised, we were reliant on those present at the meeting trying to recall what had been said at a meeting that took place more than a year before we spoke to them. There were also no minutes or detailed notes made by anyone who attended.”

Ms Rowe added: “We also considered Sir Stephen’s career history, previous actions and public remarks about combating violence against women and girls and sexual offences, which supported his assertion that the alleged comments did not reflect his stance on the issue.”

Sir Stephen, who served as Police Scotland chief constable from October 2012 to November 2015, said: “I am pleased that the IOPC recognised that I have demonstrated a clear record throughout my career of prioritising the policing of rape and serious sexual offences and domestic abuse, and that I helped to ensure that the resources were in place to be able to facilitate the MPS in being one of the first police services to proactively engage with Operation Soteria.

“The IOPC have found that I have no case to answer on all of the allegations. Their findings underline my long-standing commitment to combating violence against women and domestic abuse.

“I bitterly regret that these allegations have helped to undermine public confidence in the commitment of the Metropolitan Police to support the victims of rape and I hope that the findings may help to reassure the public.”

Former Police Scotland chief constable Sir Stephen House won't face disciplinary proceedings over 'regretful sex' comments