LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will change the law on rape trials to stop alleged attackers from cross-examining their victims in court, Home Secretary Jack Straw told BBC radio and said there would still be procedures to ensure that cross-examination by lawyers took place but the attacker would not be able to force his victim to re-live the experience. Last year a serial rapist, who was representing himself, was allowed to interrogate his victim in court for five days. The case prompted Straw to pledge it would never happen again. Proposals to give more protection to rape victims have the backing of Britain`s police, Straw said. Another change in the law would mean that the sexual history of victims would not be admitted in court. "There have been the most outrageous occasions where a victim`s alleged previous sexual history has been dragged through the court in order to damage her credibility in a way that a criminal`s previous history often cannot be brought up," Straw said. He said evidence of this kind would not be allowed in court unless the trial judge agreed to it after a separate private hearing. The police have drastically reformed the way they treat rape victims over the past 20 years, making women much less fearful of the treatment they will receive when reporting a sex attack. The result has been a big increase in the number of rapes reported, but because of the ordeal victims face in court, many have been unwilling to see the prosecution through and the conviction rate remains poor.