Hamiltons 'may sue police'

The couple posed for photographers in Cheshire

Neil and Christine Hamilton are reportedly considering suing the police for unlawful arrest over rape allegations made against them.

The former Conservative minister and his wife may also bring a case for wrongful imprisonment after being questioned for five hours by police over the alleged sex attack on a 28-year-old woman.

The mystery is that the police have taken [these claims] seriously enough to arrest two totally innocent people

Neil Hamilton

The pair have strongly denied the allegations, describing them as a "complete tissue of lies and fabrications".

The Hamiltons' solicitor, Michael Coleman, is quoted in the Daily Mail on Monday as saying that his clients may now be seeking damages from Scotland Yard.

"In the extraordinary circumstances of this case we would hope that the courts would measure their disquiet in an appropriate award of damages," he told the paper.

Scotland Yard declined to comment, with a spokeswoman saying it "would be inappropriate to discuss any details during an ongoing investigation".

'Major injustice'

Mr Hamilton said on Sunday it was a mystery the police had taken the allegations seriously enough to make arrests.

He also said it was "a major injustice" that he and his wife had their names made public in connection with the allegations, whereas the person making the claims remained anonymous.

The couple posed for the massed photographers in London

The allegations originally surfaced on Friday after the couple were released on police bail following five hours of questioning.

The claims were made by a college lecturer, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

She said the couple performed indecent acts on her at a flat in Ilford, Essex, on 5 May, while a 60-year-old man raped her.

Publicist Max Clifford confirmed on Saturday that the woman told him of the allegations, before going to the police.

'Further repercussions'

The Hamiltons - at the heart of the "cash for questions" scandal in 1994 - arrived back at their £1.25m house at Nether Alderley, Cheshire on Sunday evening.

They said they woud be watching events closely over the course of the week.

"We are learning more and more about how these allegations came to be made and how they ended up in the public domain," said Mr Hamilton, 52.

"There will be further repercussions in the course of this week," he said.

Mr Hamilton described the past few days as "pretty grim".

He added: ""We will take stock. Further bulletins will be issued in due course."

Legal changes sought

Labour peer Lord Corbett is calling for the reintroduction of legislation granting anonymity to people accused of rape unless they are found guilty of the offence.

He was a home affairs spokesman responsible for overseeing law in 1976 that made it an offence to name either the rape victim or the alleged perpetrator of the crime.

The clause guarding the anonymity of those accused of rape was overturned in the mid-1980s.

Responding to the rape allegations made against the Hamiltons, Lord Corbett told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the current system did not offer "justice".

I really do not think justice depends on allowing newspapers to crawl all over the evidence before it goes to a jury

Lord Corbett

"I really do not think justice depends on allowing newspapers to crawl all over the evidence before it goes to a jury," he said.

The Hamiltons have been accompanied by a camera crew and documentary maker Louis Theroux - who was coincidentally filming a programme about the Hamiltons when the story broke.

When Mr Theroux declined to comment on the developments of the last few days, Mrs Hamilton, 51, jokingly said: "You little bashful one."

Computers being examined

She later scolded him for trampling on the roses.

According to several Sunday newspapers police will be examining the couple's computers, which they have taken away, to establish whether the allegations are true.

The News of the World said the woman met Mrs Hamilton through an internet chatroom.

The woman claimed she was raped during an orgy and was told to "shut up and enjoy it".