These new figures come just days after government data revealed that the rape prosecution rate has fallen again, with only 1.3% of rapes now being prosecuted.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics also released last week showed that police forces recorded the highest ever number of rapes and sexual offences last year, with 63,136 rapes recorded in the year to September, up 13% from the previous period.

The figures cover the months after the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard in March 2021, with the ONS suggesting that the latest figures may reflect a “number of factors”, including the “impact of high-profile incidents, media coverage and campaigns on people’s willingness to report incidents to the police, as well as a potential increase in the number of victims”.

Commenting on the findings Dame Vera Baird QC, said: “There is no escaping the numbers: record highs in reported rapes and sexual assaults and charging rates so low as to be barely discernible. This is of grave concern and a depressingly familiar story.

“Much as we hope each year to finally witness the green shoots of a recovery, we are once again faced with the crushing reality that the criminal justice system is continuing to fail rape victims in ever-increasing numbers.”

The average rape case now takes over 1,000 days to complete, new data shows