Just ask William Roache, Jim Davidson, Paul Gambaccini or Nigel Evans MP, who told me the months of suspicion in the full glare of publicity were like “public torture”. It is not just the high-profile who suffer. Ben Sullivan was President of the Oxford Union when he was accused of rape last year, enduring weeks of reputation trashing, hate campaigning and national media coverage before the case against him was dropped. And still, post-exoneration, the men accused will face the strained smiles and suspicious eyes of those who have Googled them, scenting that faint whiff of smoke and wondering whether there just wasn’t quite enough evidence.