Andrew Tate's civil trial on allegations of rape and sexual assault has been postponed again after Hertfordshire Constabulary reopened a criminal investigation into the same claims, a London High Court judge confirmed Wednesday.
The trial had been scheduled to begin June 22. Four women allege Tate committed acts of sexual violence against them in Luton and Hitchin between 2013 and 2015, including claims that he grabbed one woman by the throat on multiple occasions, pointed a gun in her face and assaulted her with a belt.
Tate's lawyers applied for a full 12-month stay of the civil proceedings, arguing they were awaiting materials from police and that any criminal prosecution could be prejudiced by a civil trial proceeding first. Mrs Justice Lambert rejected that request. Instead, she adjourned the case to await further details on the police investigation, telling the court: "As soon as this case is ready it will be heard."
The judge said Tate's legal team had "not persuaded me that there is a real risk of serious prejudice" and noted that "any trial of these criminal allegations will be many years in the future."
Hertfordshire Constabulary announced in March that it would reinvestigate alleged rape and sexual assault offences reported between 2014 and 2015. That reinvestigation will focus on 10 devices containing more than one million messages, videos and photographs. The force itself is under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct over how it handled its original inquiry into the claims.
Police are due to update the court at a hearing in July, which could set a new start date for the civil trial.
Matthew Jury, of McCue Jury & Partners, representing the four women, said his clients had "already endured more than a decade of waiting for justice" and "have been let down time and again by the police." A spokesperson for Tate said in March that he "continues to deny all allegations in the strongest possible terms" and will "engage with any proper legal process in full." Tate has previously called the claims a "pack of lies" and "gross fabrications" in his written defence to the High Court.
Tate separately faces civil and criminal proceedings in the United States and Romania.
