A woman who falsely claimed she was trafficked to Blackpool to be ‘raped by grooming gangs’ and was jailed for her lies could see her sentence extended.

The case of Eleanor Williams, 22, has been referred to the Attorney General’s Office under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme after she was jailed in March for eight and a half years.

Williams, of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, was found guilty of eight counts of perverting the course of justice and pleaded guilty to a ninth following a trial at Preston Crown Court.

The court heard how she had falsely claimed to have been the victim of an Asian grooming gang, after writing a Facebook post in May 2020, which was shared more than 100,000 times, in which she described being beaten, abused and trafficked by Asian men.

However, it was all lies, with injuries she posted actually being self-inflicted with a hammer, and evidence completely vindicating the innocent men she had accused of grooming, trafficking and raping her over a number of years.

One man, Mohammed Ramzan, received death threats as a result of her lies, after she accused him of trafficking her to brothels in Amsterdam when she was 12, and taking her to Blackpool to be raped by men.

In reality, she had travelled to the Fylde coast alone, and spent her visit watching videos on her phone in a hotel with a Pot Noodle.

She also falsely accused a man she met by chance in Preston city centre of being a trafficker who plied her with drugs, raped her, and sold her to other men.

Her lies caused significant uproar in Barrow, with protests outside police stations and even a visit to the town from far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson.

Now, the Attorney General’s Office will consider Williams’ case following a referral from a member of the public.

It will consider if there are grounds to refer the case to the High Court for being unduly lenient.

If it is referred, judges at the top court in the land may hear the case and then make a judgment; either agreeing it is unduly lenient and extending the sentence, disagreeing and leaving the sentence the same, or they may even refuse to hear the case at all.

If it is referred, there is no guarantee Williams’ sentence will be extended.

Passing sentence in March, Honorary Recorder of Preston Judge Robert Altham said: “It is troubling to say the least that she shows no significant signs of remorse.”

He said there was no explanation for why the defendant made the allegations, which he described as “complete fiction”, adding: “Unless and until the defendant chooses to say why she has told these lies we will not know.”