05 December 2018
Max Hill QC, the new Director of Public Prosecutions, has dispensed with his team of legal advisers. Giving evidence to the Justice Select Committee this week, Hill said there were good reasons why his predecessor Keir Starmer had established the team but that he considered it his role to support prosecutors’ decisions rather than to take casework decisions. He said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had reduced its staff numbers by 30% due to funding cuts, but had maintained its conviction rate at about 85%. However, he said the CPS could ‘absolutely not’ take any more cuts.
