AN INDEPENDENT review will examine the way police in Plumstead conducted an inquiry into sex attacker John Worboys, after it emerged officers arrested and then released him.

The 51-year old hackney cab driver was convicted of assaulting 12 women at Croydon Crown Court yesterday (March 13), but investigating officers fear the figure could be just the tip of the iceberg.

It can now be revealed the former stripper and porn star has been linked to 85 attacks in the London and Dorset areas dating back to 2002.

An Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation is under way into how Worboys slipped through the police net after his arrest in July 2007 and went on to attack a further 30 women.

The IPCC said officers in Plumstead could face misconduct charges over their inquiry into an attack on a 19-year-old student.

Following his release on bail, Worboys was told there would be no further action despite toxicology tests which found traces of sedatives in her blood and CCTV evidence of him helping her from the back of his cab.

Croydon Crown Court heard yesterday how women fell for his distinctive ruse to lure revellers into joining him for a glass of champagne in the back of his black cab.

Worboys spun them a story of how he had won money on the lottery or at a casino and showed them a carrier bag stuffed full of cash as he invited them to help him celebrate.

But the drinks were mixed with powerful sedatives that left his victims stupefied and powerless to stop him pouncing on them and subjecting them to horrific sexual assaults.

Investigating officers say Worboys could be one of Britain’s most prolific sex attackers and that there are potentially hundreds more victims too embarrassed or unsure to come forward after falling for his lies.

Police are braced for fresh wave of victims to come forward and have opened a dedicated phone reporting line - 0800 121 4441 - for women to contact.