An Oxford University student cleared of sexual assault is at the centre of a new police investigation after he claimed his accuser sent a hitman to kill him.

Jonathan William Inigo Lapwood, 23, a philosophy and psychology student at Christ Church college, was arrested on his houseboat near Christ Church meadows in September last year after a woman reported him for allegations of sexual assault and actual bodily harm.

Well-known at the college for his involvement in student politics, and for once taking a homemade flamethrower to the annual Christ Church ball, Mr Lapwood was bailed to his parents’ home in Oxfordshire and forced to suspend his studies while police officers conducted a lengthy investigation into the allegations.