Student who wrongly accused Oxford Union president of rape admitted their relationship was consensual almost a year earlier

Ben Sullivan, 21, cleared of suspected rape after police saw online exchange

Alleged victim told president it was not rape and to 'ignore it' in the dialogue



Also 'implied there was a plot to oust him as head of Oxford Union'

Anti rape groups blast release of conversation as backlash against victims



Conversation: Ben Sullivan, 21, was cleared of suspected rape and suspected attempted rape after police read a conversation between him and one of the alleged victims in which she admitted it wasn't rape

A girl who accused the Oxford Union president of rape admitted she consented to their relationship months before she made the allegation, it has emerged.

Ben Sullivan, 21, was cleared of all suspicion after police saw an online exchange between the pair in which she vowed to make clear he had not raped her.

The conversation also suggested there had been a plot to oust him from his role as president of the revered society.

'If we ignore it, it'll go away,' the alleged victim wrote in a conversation read by the Daily Telegraph.



She went on to say she felt guilty about their encounter having just rekindled her relationship with her ex-boyfriend, the paper reports.



And when asked if she thought it was rape she replied, 'no', adding 'I was far too drunk, that's it'.



However, a year later Mr Sullivan, a third-year undergraduate, was arrested at dawn in his college room at Christ Church and was on bail for six weeks.

The case sparked outrage, with calls for speakers to boycott the union and a petition - signed by high profile activists - for Mr Sullivan's resignation.

Finally, last week, police informed the 21-year-old that no further action would be taken against him following an investigation into the allegations, thought to have been made by the young women more than a year ago.

A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: 'All of the evidence was passed to the Crown Prosecution Service for them to make a decision about charging and they decided against.'

Rape victim support campaigners are now warning of a backlash against the alleged victims, blasting the release of details of their conversation as Mr Sullivan is given a platform to defend himself.



Speaking of the ordeal, he said: ‘It’s been very difficult, very harrowing. It puts things in perspective, changes your priorities to say the very least.

'I’m very thankful to everyone who has given me support - my friends, my family, and people at the union.’

A letter written by student politicians to around 30 speakers who had been booked to attend, asked them to boycott the Union, and Mr Sullivan to resign in what they called a ‘push for equality’.



Scandal: The case sparked outrage, with calls for the 21-year-old undergraduate to resign

Nobel Peace prize winner Tawakkol Karman, a human rights activist, Interpol secretary-general Robert Noble, the US entrepreneur Julie Meyer and David Mepham, the UK director of Human Rights Watch, were all said to have pulled out of debates at the Oxford Union, citing concerns about Mr Sullivan’s arrest.



But the banker’s son, who attended £22,000-a-year St Paul’s school in London, repeatedly defied calls to stand down as president while the police investigation was carried out.



Student union official Sarah Pine who was the leader of the campaign to boycott the union also appeared on Newsnight and said she stood by the campaign.

