A jury took just 40 minutes this week to clear Prince Philip’s former aide Benjamin Herman of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl. He had been accused of grooming her in the Seventies while working at Buckingham Palace.

Eighty-year-old Mr Herman was innocent, yet his good name has been dragged through the mud.

Meanwhile, officers leading Operation Hydrant — the inquiry set up to investigate historic sex abuse — have revealed that they are investigating an astonishing 1,400 suspects, including 76 politicians, 43 figures from the music industry and 135 from TV, film and radio.

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There’s a balance between ensuring women feel confident in coming forward and protecting the innocent

Each and every one of these men has an accuser, who insists they committed an appalling crime. But how many are guilty, and how many — like that royal equerry — are victims of fabricated claims?

It must be said that the conviction rate for sexual offences in Britain is pitifully low. Only around 7 per cent of reported rapes result in a conviction. More shockingly, it’s estimated just 11 per cent of rapes are ever reported to the police.

Equally, research has consistently shown that false accusations of rape are uncommon. But they do happen. I know because it happened to me.

Several years ago, I was falsely accused of sexually assaulting a female patient while I was looking after her in the Accident and Emergency department of the hospital where I was working.

It was utterly ludicrous for a number of reasons, not least because she was handcuffed to two policemen the entire time she was in the department, and also because she was under uninterrupted CCTV surveillance that showed I didn’t so much as touch her. Oh, and also I’m gay.

Even though I knew the accusation was false, it really shook me. The woman was very emotionally disturbed — indeed, that was why she’d been brought to A&E.

Prince Philip’s former aide Benjamin Herman, pictured last year, was cleared of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl earlier this week

What upset me was that I had worked particularly hard, staying well after my shift ended, to make sure she was OK. I’d tried to stand up for her with the police and felt I’d done my very best for her.

I was particularly wounded to think that, despite this, she had lied in such a cruel way. It seemed all my efforts to connect with a troubled patient had been in vain.

But then I spoke to a colleague — a doctor who is also a psychotherapist — and he suggested it was the very connection we had formed that had made my accuser say what she had.

She was unconsciously targeting all the anger and hatred she felt against the world at the one person she’d fleetingly felt close to — me.

My colleague also suggested that, because there were witnesses, the woman had deliberately chosen someone she knew would ultimately be exonerated.

It made me feel slightly better but it still took several stressful months for the police to interview everyone and review the CCTV.

Given all the publicity surrounding the historic sex abuse scandals, it’s inevitable these, too, will attract people making untrue accusations. But it’s wrong to think the only motive will be malice or a cynical desire for compensation. Often, as with my accuser, there will be a more deep-seated, emotional reason.

In these cases, claims of ‘abuse’ and ‘rape’ are being used to communicate desperate, overwhelming distress, a sense of loss of control and autonomy.

These are words with enormous cultural weight, and immediately convey a degree of psychological trauma it may otherwise be difficult for the person to express. Quite literally, they are saying: ‘I feel violated.’ And they think the only way they’ll be listened to is by giving their pain the most dramatic label possible.

There’s no doubt this shows how damaged and in need of help they are. But that’s no comfort for the victims of their claims.

My own experience has made me think carefully about the issue of anonymity for accused men. And I’m now convinced rape and sexual assault should be treated differently from other crimes, because false accusations can destroy lives. It seems only fair that suspects should be afforded anonymity until convicted. The argument against this is that publicising the man’s name allows other victims to come forward, but that’s sloppy justice.

Each case should stand on its own, and if the man is convicted, then other victims can respond and he can be tried for these crimes as well.

There’s a delicate balance between ensuring women feel confident in coming forward and protecting the innocent.

I wonder how many of those 1,400 VIP suspects will turn out to be among the latter.

ANIMAL LIB PSYCHOPATHS The Danish radio DJ who killed a rabbit live on air during a discussion on animal rights has told how he and his family have since received death threats. Despite the fact that millions of rabbits are killed every year for humans to eat, the public nature of his actions has made him a target for unhinged zealots. The reality of the animal rights movement (and I say this as a vegetarian) is that there’s a small, hard-core nucleus who do their cause a great disservice. The truth is that if it weren’t animal rights, they would have latched on to some other cause and used that as a vehicle for their psychopathic tendencies instead. I remember speaking to a forensic psychiatrist who said that during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, there were hardly any violent psychopaths being cared for by the mental health services. The reason? They were all political prisoners. Advertisement

Ban on legal highs is a sham

A bill announced this week in the Queen’s Speech will ban all ‘legal highs’ — but don’t be fooled.

There’s no doubt we must do something about the threat these designer drugs pose, especially to youngsters. Having worked in a clinic for addicts, I know the damage drug abuse can do.

But the proposed legislation won’t protect young people at all.

It will make it illegal to sell these drugs, but possessing them will remain legal. Shops currently selling them — so-called ‘head shops’ — will be unable to do so, but the majority have always been wary of selling to minors anyway.

It’s the internet that’s the problem. Most of the companies making legal highs are based in China. A UK law is of absolutely no concern to them, and they’ll carry on doing a roaring trade online.

The new bill will make it illegal to sell 'highs' like laughing gas, but possessing them will remain legal (file image)

Back-street drug dealers will also cash in. Mephedrone — known as ‘miaow miaow’ — was the first legal high to be banned, and all that happened was that drug gangs started selling it.

It’s now more popular than when it was legal, and is used more than ecstasy and cocaine. The streets are awash with it.

I’ve a radical alternative, with which many will disagree. Why not accept that people will seek these drugs out — and allow them to remain legal but sold under licence while we investigate the long-term effects.

They could be sold in pharmacies, rather than in any corner shop that wants to stock them, as happens now. There could be age restrictions, as with tobacco and alcohol.

It’s not a perfect solution, but at least it would go some way to protecting children — unlike this stupid new Bill.

Plastic surgery's no joke

New York socialite: Jocelyn Wildenstein

It was, of course, intended as a bit of fun on the Britain’s Got Talent spin-off television show.

And many viewers laughed as Amanda Holden supposedly lost her rag when host Stephen Mulhern compared her with Jocelyn Wildenstein, the New York socialite whose plastic surgery has left her horribly disfigured.

But I don’t think plastic surgery is a joke. I have often found that those who undergo it — especially repeated procedures — have real psycho- logical problems.

People often assume that, if you’re upset about a particular part of your body, getting it fixed can only be good. But research shows it’s not that simple.

For those with underlying emotional problems, such as depression, studies prove that having plastic surgery can actually make matters worse.

They pin all their hopes on the operation making them feel better about themselves — and, immediately after surgery, often say the specific part of their body that has been changed is more attractive.

But they do not feel more satisfied with their overall appearance. And, as the months pass, there is no general improvement in their self-esteem.