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Black cab rapist John Worboys may be kept in jail as fresh sexual assault allegation against him is made

John Worboys: The sex offender is to be freed from jail: PA
John Worboys: The sex offender is to be freed from jail: PA

Black cab rapist John Worboys could be kept behind bars rather than released after a new alleged victim made sexual assault allegations against him, it has emerged.

The serial sex attacker is currently in prison, but in a move that sparked nationwide outrage, he was due to be released after the Parole Board ruled he had served his sentence for rape.

The Metropolitan Police is now understood to be investigating a fresh allegation of historical sexual assault against him. Although no arrest has been made, if Worboys is charged over the allegation it is unlikely he will be released as planned.

Scotland Yard said in a statement: "The Metropolitan Police Service is investigating an allegation of non-recent sexual assault which was reported to police in January 2018. The incident is reported to have taken place in 1997.

"Enquiries by officers from the Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Command are ongoing."

It comes after it emerged that Worboys had been moved to a London jail ahead of his release.

John Worboys in handcuffs for court in 2008
John Worboys in handcuffs for court in 2008

The 60-year-old was transferred from HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire to HMP Belmarsh, south-east London, at the weekend, it is understood.

Lawyers for victims said the move was "extremely distressing" for them.

News of his transfer, first reported by The Sun, follows a furore over the Parole Board's decision to agree to Worboys' release after a decade behind bars.

Worboys was convicted of 19 offences against 12 victims but has been linked to more than 100 complaints in total.

A group of MPs called for an "exclusion zone" to be imposed to ban the former taxi driver from the capital to reassure victims.

And London Assembly member Shaun Bailey, a former adviser to David Cameron, warned that the police would lose public confidence unless they revisited the claims.

He was backed by MP Zac Goldsmith, who said the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision to take only 23 out of 93 allegations to court had been a “misjudgement”.

It is understood Worboys's release is not imminent and his transfer does not mean he will necessarily be freed into the capital.