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Lily Allen has spoken out to slam police, with the 'Smile' star accusing them of 'victim shaming' in the handling of her case with a stalker who harrassed her on Twitter before breaking into her and her husband's bedroom and even threatening to stab her in the face.
The claims come after Allen gave a full and frank interview about her stalker, in which she told The Observer how Andrew Gray set up a Twitter account using the handle @lilyallenRIP to claim that he had written her song, ‘The Fear’ - kicking off a long run of harassment that started back in 2009. Then came "letters, abusive rants, accusations and suicide threats,” with Gray even stealing her handbag, threatening to stab her in the face and at one point breaking into her bedroom. He has since been jailed for burglary and harassment.
After joining Gray's mother in saying 'the system let everyone down' and that dealing with the authorities was like 'talking to a brick wall', Allen has now unveiled an eamil she received from the police discussing voicing her complaints with a 'high profile'.
"Due to the high profile of this matter I fear other victims of similar crimes may have read the story and now may not have the confidence in us to report such matters," reads the email. "As such it is really important I can understand what, if anything, went wrong during the investigation."
When asked by BBC Newsnight about the email, Allen responded: "I think it's victim-shaming and victim-blaming.”
The Metropolitan Police say in a statement: ""The victim should be at the heart of any investigation into such allegations and kept informed of developments as this work progresses. If this is not the case then we are keen to speak to victims and learn any lessons we can to improve our investigations."
Speaking of her life and feelings towards Gray after the ordeal, Allen said: "“Until he gets the right treatment and the right help he needs, then I’m not safe. “I’m not angry at Alex Gray. He has a mental illness. The system has failed him.
“You can throw the book at him, put him in jail, but he’ll still be coming out. And the victim is never safe.”
