Nicola Roberts: Girls Aloud singer gets CPS apology over stalker case

Charges against Carl Davies were dropped last year after he breached a restraining order by following Roberts on Instagram

Nicola Roberts has received an apology from the Crown Prosecution Service after it failed to prosecute an ex-boyfriend accused of violating a restraining order for stalking her (GC Images)

Pop singer Nicola Roberts has received an apology from the Crown Prosecution Service after it failed to prosecute an ex-boyfriend accused of violating a restraining order for stalking her.

Carl Davies was given a 15-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and a lifetime restraining order last year for stalking the Girls Aloud star. He reportedly sent 3,000 messages to Roberts, including ones where he threatened to stab and burn her.

He was later charged with breaching the restraining order by following Roberts on Instagram between July and August 2017. However, the CPS dropped the charges against him because lawyers said there was no realistic prospect for conviction.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Roberts revealed that the CPS has now issued an apology for not prosecuting the former soldier, whom she dated for 18 months before their break-up in 2008, where it accepted the decision was incorrect", and wrote to Roberts to say there was in fact a realistic prospect of conviction.

Her solicitor Lisa McKinnon-Lower, of Byrne and Partners, said: "The failure in Nicola's case was born out of a lack of understanding about how certain social media platforms work, which resulted in a decision to offer no evidence. Due to how the CPS dealt with this procedurally, no charges can now be brought."

In the interview, Roberts told of how she was scared to leave her windows open at night or take her dogs for a walk. She also worried about the safety of her new partner.

"When somebody sends a message saying 'Those are nice pyjamas' you think 'Is he able to see into my house?'" she said. "You are too scared to take the dogs out for a walk because when someone plants vicious seeds you just imagine every possible outcome.

"This is a relationship which ended 10 years ago. I should be able to move on from an unhealthy relationship if I want to and that has not been able to happen for me."

A CPS statement said: "We accept our decision not to prosecute the breach of the order was incorrect. We have written to Ms Roberts to apologise and have taken steps to ensure lessons are learned from the case.

"We fully appreciate the impact stalking and harassment has on victims and we take prosecuting these cases extremely seriously. We regularly update our legal guidance to keep up with changes in technology, including social media platforms."

Posting on Instagram after the Sunday Times interview ran, Roberts said "the singular reason I decided to speak about my experience was to raise awareness and provoke positive change".