Former UKFast boss charged with rape and sexual assault

Tech entrepreneur due to appear at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on 26 January

Former UKFast boss Lawrence Jones has been charged with one count of rape and four counts of sexual assault by Greater Manchester Police.

The offences are alleged to have taken place in 2010 and 2013 respectively, according to the police department.

Jones is due to appear at Manchester Magistrates' Court on 26 January.

In a statement released today, Greater Manchester Police said the charges were made following an investigation by detectives into sexual assault claims against the UKFast founder in 2019.

Jones quit as CEO of UKFast in October 2019 after the Financial Times published an article in which it claimed to have interviewed more than 30 former employees of UKFast accusing him of sexual assault.

The article alleged that Jones had sexually assaulted two women and harassed a number of others.

Private equity firm Inflexion first bought a minority share in the UKFast business in December 2018, but upped its stake in May 2020 to 75 per cent after founders Lawrence and Gail Jones exited the business.

UKFast is now being headed by former CEO of tech outfit Rentalcars.com - Ian Brown - who last year claimed that he saw "multiple opportunities" for the cloud hosting firm.