CPS response to Sunday Telegraph letter, 21 October 2018

The CPS was approached by the Sunday Telegraph to provide a response to a letter from Liam Allan and Samuel Armstrong, which ran on 21 October 2018. The following response was provided, but not included by the Sunday Telegraph in its coverage.

A CPS spokesperson said:

"It's fundamentally untrue to suggest the CPS has ever sought convictions at any cost. In fact the conviction rate over the last five years has remained steady despite a more complex caseload and challenging financial climate.

"‎The police and CPS apologised to Liam Allan for the investigative and disclosure issues in his case. Samuel Armstrong was acquitted by a jury after trial.

"We have worked with police to tackle the long-standing and system wide issues around disclosure. Putting this right is our top priority and a comprehensive programme of work is under way to drive lasting improvements."

Background

• The function of the CPS is not to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence but to make fair, independent and objective assessments about the evidence. ‎An acquittal does not represent a failure by the CPS.
• The CPS conviction rate has remained between 83.1% and 85.1% since 2013. The rate of guilty pleas entered has risen from 69% to 77%. These statistics have been maintained in a more complex criminal justice landscape and against a backdrop of reduced budgets and headcount.
• The CPS and National Police Chiefs' Council have published a joint National Disclosure Improvement Plan detailing the work undertaken to make sustainable changes to our disclosure duties: https://www.cps.gov.uk/publication/national-disclosure-improvement-plan‎