'Predator' caught red-handed trying to rape woman near Buckingham Palace was let go by police for a year, judge says

A judge has condemned police as incompetent after a “predator” who tried to rape a woman near Buckingham Palace was released for a year despite being caught red-handed. Sentencing Ramzi Barkat to seven years and three months at Southwark Crown Court on Friday, His Honour Judge Justin Cole said the investigating officers had shown a “catalogue of incompetencies”. Barkat, 54, tailed the lone woman out of St James’s Park in central London in the early hours of September 7, 2024. After she rejected his attempts to flirt with him, he tackled her to the ground, grabbed her wrists and “straddled” her. “He sought to take advantage of a lone vulnerable woman,” the judge said. “He acted like a predator.” The attempted rape was stopped when three “brave” young soldiers heard the woman’s screams as they were passing by. But despite being caught in the act, Barkat was released on bail or under investigation after the victim was interviewed. “He was simply let go in a situation in which frankly he had been caught red-handed and presented a continuing danger to the public,” Judge Cole told the court. “The bottom line is this man was set free for a period of a year, a year to do what he likes, in a situation where he had attacked a lone female in a park. The public would be appalled to hear of such laxity.” Barkat, who lived in Mildmay Road, north London, was found guilty of attempted rape and of assaulting one of the soldiers who intervened. He denied both counts, saying he only tried to rob the woman of her phone. Alongside the prison sentence, Barkat was issued a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and a 10-year restraining order. The judge said he would be nominating the young soldiers for High Sheriff Bravery Awards.