Police say 'sorry' to woman strip-searched for 'almost nothing'

BUT NO ACTION WILL BE TAKEN AGAINST ANY OFFICER INVOLVED

- JOHN SCHEERHOUT

POLICE have apologised to a woman who was strip-searched 'based on almost nothing' but have refused to discipline any officers.

The damning Baird report published in July criticised Greater Manchester Police for its treatment of women and girls held in custody, among them Dannika Stewart who found herself on the wrong side of the law when she made a report of grooming.

The report revealed the suspect she reported was arrested but days later, following an argument with police, she was also arrested on suspicion of blackmail and making malicious communications.

The report reveals a PC told her: "Now Dannika, we can do this the easy way, or we can do it the hard way." She 'lost her temper' and officers called her a 'k*** head' and told her that she was 'boring, according to the report. She was then stripsearched and she said one PC was staring at her breasts.

Dame Vera Baird, the report's author, said 'based on almost nothing, GMP turned Dannika from a victim into a suspect.