Criminal cases that the Crown Prosecution Service take to court are in the news every day. This section also covers many issues related to our work, including violence against women and girls, hate crime, support for victims and witnesses, statistics, and speeches by the Director of Public Prosecutions and other senior staff.
Latest news
You can find our latest news stories here and search for older stories. You can also find more information about high-profile cases and the work of the CPS.
Five people have been sentenced for a far-reaching fraud involving tickets for Liverpool Football Club matches.Louis James, 37, of Lapford Crescent, Kirkby, Joseph Johnson, 42, of Chelford Road, Eccleston, Liam Rice, 36, of Roughwood Drive, Kirkby, Lee Smith, 38, of Winmoss Drive, Kirkby, and James…
Press ReleaseFraud and economic crimeMersey-Cheshire
A man who drove his car into the crowd at Liverpool FC’s victory parade injuring 134 people, has been jailed for 21 years and six months. The judge sentencing Paul Doyle at Liverpool Crown Court was shown distressing dashcam footage from Doyle’s Ford Galaxy from 26 May 2025.Doyle was speeding,…
Former Premier League footballer Joey Barton has received a suspended prison sentence for sending grossly offensive messages to football pundits Eni Aluko and Lucy Ward and broadcaster Jeremy Vine.The former Manchester City player targeted his three victims on 12 occasions between early January and…
A man has pleaded guilty to stalking Liverpool FC women’s team player Marie Hobinger with inappropriate and sexualised messages.Mangal Dalal, 42, of Hyde Park Gardens, in Westminster London, repeatedly sent messages to the player via Instagram between 27 January 2025 and 16 February 2025.The…
A man who raped a woman after pledging to get her home safely when she became separated from her friends has been given a 16-year sentence. John Callaway, 43, of Shakespeare Close in the Everton area of Liverpool, was an alarm engineer and was on shift in Liverpool city centre on 24…
A man has admitted deliberately driving into a crowd of people during Liverpool FC’s Premier League title celebrations in May.Paul Doyle, 54, of West Derby, Liverpool, today (26 November 2025) changed his pleas to guilty at the start of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court to 31 offences including:1…
New measures to upskill prosecutors in Merseyside and Cheshire to better recognise patterns of domestic abuse offending have been announced today as part of the Crown Prosecution Service’s rollout of its five-year Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy.The new strategy, which will reflect…
The parents of a thirteen-week-old baby boy have been convicted of his murder.Miguel Pirjani, was admitted to Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool on 24 November 2024 after his father Klevi Pirjani, of Percy Road in Seacombe, Wallasey, had dialled 999.He told the Operator that Miguel “just…
A Merseyside man has been jailed for more than five years after police found more than £17million worth of ketamine in the van he was driving.Paul Farrelly, 46, of Redbank Close in Fazakerley, Liverpool, was stopped by police at around 4.30pm on 16 September 2025, on the East Lancashire Road in the…
A man has been sentenced for driving his car at high speed, crashing it into a historic shelter, submerging it in a lake and then ringing the police to claim the car had been stolen. Harry Mason, 29, of The Mallards in Southport, was spotted by police, driving a Mercedes car in a…
Press ReleaseDriving offencesMersey-Cheshire
Press Office contact details
Please note that our Press Office is NOT able to deal with issues or queries from members of the public - these contact details are for accredited journalists ONLY. Do not call this number unless you a member of the press. For all general enquiries, please visit contact.cps.gov.uk.
If you are a national or international journalist with a media enquiry, you can contact the CPS Press Office on 020 3357 0906 or email [email protected] (9am-5pm weekdays only).
For out-of-hours media enquiries please call 020 3357 0906 to reach the duty press officer.
If you follow us on social media, you can expect posts covering some or all of the following:
Operational updates on decisions to prosecute or take no further action;
Reactions and statements on trial outcomes;
Policy updates from the Director of Public Prosecutions and other prosecutors;
Updates on media appearances by CPS staff
Content that explains the role of the CPS and how we work
Highlighting of relevant work by our criminal justice partners and other stakeholders
We will aim to be fair and accurate in all the information we publish. We will aim to correct any inaccuracies as soon as possible.
We are unable to monitor social media round the clock. We are not able to engage with all those who seek a response from us due to resources but also due to privacy and the sensitive nature of some of our work. The best way to contact the CPS is through our website.
Please do not try to report crime using social media. To report crime, please call 101 or visit your local police station. In an emergency, always call 999.
If you follow us on social media we will not automatically follow you back. Being followed by us does not imply endorsement of any kind.
Media protocol
To ensure greater openness in the reporting of criminal proceedings, the CPS, the police and media representatives developed a joint protocol for working together. We are currently in the process of updating the protocol.
