Why were four young men at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester put through absolute hell on a dubious rape charge which has just collapsed in court?

The men – boys, really (all in their early twenties) – were accused of sexually assaulting a female student on the night of the annual Mad Hatter’s Ball in May 2014. They claimed the sex was consensual. On Monday, just as the trial was about to start, the prosecution announced it would not be offering any evidence.

The police investigation was outrageously poor, with evidence in the men’s favour apparently being omitted or not recorded in the first place. A message from the woman’s phone, which allegedly suggested that she may have consented, appears to have been missed or overlooked.