When I heard of the collapse of the rape case against student Liam Allan and that the pivotal reason for the CPS offering no further evidence against him was the late disclosure of evidence, I felt real anger.

But the case of Isaac Itiary is even more chilling. He spent four months in jail and when his complainants’ disclosures were eventually released it was proven again that lies and a sloppy attitude to disclosures had cost this man his freedom and his arrest was accompanied by the police forcibly entering his property.

4 MP Nigel Evans with Liam Allan, who was cleared of rape Credit: Nigel Evans

The fear on behalf of many barristers is that these two wholly tragic cases are just the tip of the iceberg.

A further fear is that innocent people are facing trials with incomplete evidence and some are almost certainly behind bars.

There is a real sense that the presumption has moved from innocent until proven guilty along with the desire to get convictions up.

There is more than a suggestion that as complainants were termed victims before any trial took place, this has led to some cherry picking of evidence which basically tilts the judicial balance towards the complainant.

4 Liam Allan went on trial for rape before it collapsed Credit: Rex Features

If this sort of attitude is leading to unnecessary charges and, worse, incorrect convictions then this whole miscarriage of justice has turned into a cancer in our judicial system.

As someone who has been accused of rape myself, and acquitted, I know the pain and torture that would have surrounded the every waking moment of Liam and Isaac’s lives since the day the police knocked on their doors and told them of the allegations.

I spoke with Liam yesterday and I know the crushing impact that it has had on his life. It is two years of unspeakable stress and torment. It is more than a life on hold; it is a life on the verge of collapse.

Liam is a well-rounded and respectable young man. He is incredibly likeable, refreshingly honest and bright. He is an all-round nice bloke.

4 Isaac Itiary's case was the second within a week to collapse due to evidence not being disclosed

His accuser knew the tissue of lies she was telling and yet incredibly went into court knowing that her “story” could cost Liam his freedom for at least 12 years, possibly more. She would know that her “story”, if believed, could cost Liam massive damage to his reputation, shatter his employment changes, and would be placed on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life.

When the thousands of messages were examined they showed in graphic form that Liam was innocent of all charges and the case against him had no chance of success. The CPS examined all the evidence and decided that there was no reasonable chance of a conviction. The case was dropped and the judge told Liam that he left the court without a stain on his character.

As Liam picks up the pieces of his life with his hugely supportive family and friends, The Metropolitan Police have embarked on their own enquiry along with the Crown Prosecution Service. At best there has been enormous negligence in the handling of the case. It may prove that on investigation that it is much worse than that.

4 Nigel Evans during his trial for rape in 2014

More wrongful charges and jail terms serve no one especially the soundness of our judicial system.

The law clearly has guidelines on the conduct of investigations and the necessity for relevant information to be assessed by the Crown and, if charge follows, for that information to be provided to both prosecution and defence. This simply did not happen.

One of the saints in sorting out this debacle in Liam’s case, barrister Jerry Hayes, said the problem of late and non-disclosure is systematic in this country. This needs clearing up – and now.

The Metropolitan Police review should be independent of the force and the CPS. It needs to be thorough and speedy.

I also hope that all forces in the UK follow suit. It is wholly inconceivable that this sort of practice isn’t commonplace throughout the country.

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It will be interesting to see how many more miscarriages of process come to light. There may also be many calls for convictions to be looked at again where non-disclosure has occurred.

Two young men will be spending Christmas with their families and chums, tucking into Turkey and pudding. It might have been all so different, sharing a cell with “similar convicted sex offenders” and eating porridge.

The rotten processes that almost cost these men their freedom and sanity have no place in the British judicial system, it’s time for an overhaul and for Liam's and Isaac’s sake it can’t come soon enough.