England: Law on sexual history disclosure of alleged rape victims to be reviewed

Mr Evans, 27, was acquitted of rape at a retrial last month. His accuser’s sexual history was disclosed to the defence as the Court of Appeal deemed the case exceptional under s.41 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999.

But Baroness Williams, from the Home Office, said concerns about the disclosure “should be looked at and we intend to deal with it”.

Mr Evans was convicted in 2012 of the rape of 19-year-old woman in at a hotel in Denbighshire, Wales in 2011.

However, at last month’s retrial he was found not guilty following a disclosure in which two other men revealed that the woman used similar phrases during sex with them.

Baroness Williams told peers this week: “We are aware of the recent concern about the admissibility of a complainant’s sexual history and wider perceptions about the law.”

According to the footballer, the woman had allowed him to “join in” as she had consensual sex with Clayton McDonald, 27.

Calls into the application of the legislation were made during the committee stage of the Policing and Crime Bill in the Lords.

Lord Marks QC said: “The point here and the point that we seek to have reviewed is whether, as a result of the Ched Evans case, there might be cases where the restrictive nature of Section 41 has or may be watered down and we need to look at how its operating.

“It is very important that rape gets reported and it is very important that the legislation in place is certainly as restrictive as we always thought Section 41 was and as the textbooks say it is.

“And the public concern is that this case seems to have weakened that protection.”