ALISON SAUNDERS - Senior CPS lawyer who went to Portugal in April - and will become the next Director of Public Prosecutions. Her track record examined.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23420460

Wasn't it her that has been to Portugal recently with regards Madeleine 'case'?

We all know about the sycophantic support of the McCanns by the present DPP Keir Starmer.

Will Alison have a different view?

Obviously she is aware of the Portuguese conclusions to the case of the missing child.

Did she tell the Portuguese they were WRONG, WRONG, WRONG?

Or does a new broom sweep clean?

We'll see!

ETA:
"The DPP is the most senior criminal prosecutor in England and Wales, responsible for more than 6,800 staff."

I wonder if the new DPP will do an internal poll of all her 6,800 staff to see how many of THEM actually believe the McCanns story of 'abduction'

Wonder if all the 'staff' will get a memo telling them to keep schtum?
Got to be a whistle blower if they do, don't you think?
How on earth they gonna silence all 6,800 people, if they are indeed told to keep quiet and not question the McCanns 'story'?

jeanmonroe wrote:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23420460

Wasn't it her that has been to Portugal recently with regards Madeleine 'case'?

We all know about the sycophantic support of the McCanns by the present DPP Keir Starmer.

Will Alison have a different view?

Obviously she is aware of the Portuguese conclusions to the case of the missing child.

Did she tell the Portuguese they were WRONG, WRONG, WRONG?

Or does a new broom sweep clean?

We'll see!

This part fills me with hope:

"She then briefly left the CPS to join government as a deputy legal adviser to the attorney general. On her return, she set up the CPS organised crime division which deals with complex cases including human trafficking, drugs, counterfeiting and money laundering across borders".

Money laundering eh?

As PeterMac always says: FOLLOW THE MONEY!

Maybe she will take a fresh look at the Madeleine 'Fund'!

Especially the money 'out' column!

And the McCanns 'dealings' with Metoado 3!

sallypelt wrote:

jeanmonroe wrote:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23420460

Wasn't it her that has been to Portugal recently with regards Madeleine 'case'?

We all know about the sycophantic support of the McCanns by the present DPP Keir Starmer.

Will Alison have a different view?

Obviously she is aware of the Portuguese conclusions to the case of the missing child.

Did she tell the Portuguese they were WRONG, WRONG, WRONG?

Or does a new broom sweep clean?

We'll see!

This part fills me with hope:

"She then briefly left the CPS to join government as a deputy legal adviser to the attorney general. On her return, she set up the CPS organised crime division which deals with complex cases including human trafficking, drugs, counterfeiting and money laundering across borders".

When I first saw the report that Alison Saunders had gone to Portugal to speak with the PJ, the fact that she dealt with "money laundering across borders" hit me between the eyes straightaway, although I didn't like to mention it on the forum at the time; I didn't want to get admin into trouble.  

CPS lawyer Alison Saunders went to Portugal in April to discuss the disappearance of Madeleine McCann with Portuguese officials.

Just three months later, on 12 July 2013, it was announced that she would replace the current head of the DPP, Keir Starmer Q.C., when he retires in December.

Here are three items about her:

1. Her own biography

2. A report about how Attorney-General Lord Goldsmith changed his maind in the space of 10 days in 2003 about whether or not the Britain-U.S. war against Iraq would be illegal. He initially advised that it would need U.N. approval - which never came. Then he said it didn't matter. The point is that Alison Saunders was a top adviser to the Attorney General at this very time.

3. Report of her promotion to be DPP in The Guardian, which deals with her dreadful decisions re Hillsborough. Did she not suss that the police were lying to the Inquest??

I'll add them here without furrther comment, except to highlight points of interest in red:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Alison Saunders - biography

I joined the CPS in 1986, the year it was formed. Prior to that, I worked at Lloyds of London following my pupilage in a common law set.

I spent my early CPS career prosecuting in what was known as CPS London South. In 1991 I moved to the CPS Policy Directorate where I developed an expertise in issues involving child victims and witnesses. I rejoined CPS London in 1997 and was promoted to Assistant Chief Crown Prosecutor in 1999.

In 2001 I became Chief Crown Prosecutor Sussex, where I oversaw the successful prosecution of Roy Whiting for the abduction and murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne.

In 2003 I served as Deputy Legal Advisor to the Attorney General before rejoining the CPS two years later as Head of the Organised Crime Division (OCD).

I set up and established the OCD, who dealt exclusively with cases from SOCA and CEOP. Most of these cases were proactive operations involving international enquiries. As well as establishing the unit in the UK, OCD had to establish international contacts and managed a network of UK magistrates abroad.

In December 2009, I was appointed the Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS London. CPS London deals with over 20% of the CPS work. It has over 1,200 staff who deal with over 200,000 cases each year. Since working for CPS London I have been heavily involved in high profile cases such as the retrial in Stephen Lawrence’s murder case and most recently the London disorder cases known as Operation Withern.

++++++++++++++++++++

Iraq war legal advice published

The issue of Iraq is firmly back on the agenda

Downing Street has published the full advice it received on the legality of the Iraq war, after fresh media leaks.

It shows that the attorney general told Tony Blair on 7 March 2003 a second UN resolution was the safest legal course.

Ten days later Lord Goldsmith's final advice was published, but included no concerns about the legality of the war.

Michael Howard and Charles Kennedy said the advice raised fresh questions. But Mr Blair said the "smoking gun" had turned out to be "a damp squib".

The issue dominated the questioning when the three main party leaders appeared on a Question Time special.

Lord Goldsmith's 7 March advice was never shown to the Cabinet - instead, the 17 March advice was. It was also made public in an answer in the House of Lords. The war started on 20 March.

In the earlier advice, Lord Goldsmith raised possible legal arguments which could be made against the Iraq war.

He warned there were "a number of ways" in which opponents of the war could bring legal action.

"We cannot be certain that they would not succeed," he said, adding a second UN resolution might be the way of preventing such legal action succeeding.
'Unequivocal'?

Key questions he considered included whether the wording of previous resolutions on Iraq authorised military action.

But Lord Goldsmith's nine-paragraph written answer to Parliament on 17 March raised no such doubts, stating: "Authority to use force against Iraq exists" from previous UN resolutions.

++++++++++++++++++++

Stephen Lawrence barrister to become director of public prosecutions

Alison Saunders will become only second female DPP when she replaces Keir Starmer later this year

Alison Saunders was recently made a Companion of the Order of the Bath for her work during the London riots.

[ Photograph: Crown Prosecution Service/PA ]

A barrister who oversaw the conviction of Stephen Lawrence's killers and was praised for her work during the London riots is to become the top prosecutor in England and Wales.

Alison Saunders, the chief crown prosecutor for London, will be only the second woman to become director of public prosecutions (DPP) when she replaces Keir Starmer later this year.

Saunders, who has been at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) since its inception in 1986, was recently made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace for her work during the London riots.

As violence flared across the capital and then other English cities in the summer of 2011, Saunders and her colleagues were said to have worked around the clock to deal with offenders who were being arrested by police.

However, the Hillsborough Family Support Group expressed concern at the appointment because in 1996 Saunders, then a lawyer in the Attorney General's office, gave advice that an application for a new inquest into the deaths be refused. The inquests were finally quashed last year.

It is the first time the CPS has appointed an internal candidate as DPP, one of the most senior criminal justice roles in the country. The late Dame Barbara Mills, who held the post from 1992 to 1998, was the first female DPP.

Announcing Saunders's selection, the attorney general, Dominic Grieve QC, said the internal appointment was proof "of the high quality of the professionals" in the CPS. "Alison will make an excellent director of public prosecutions and is the right person to help the CPS meet the challenges it will face in the coming years," he said. "I am particularly pleased that Alison is the first head of the CPS to be appointed from within its ranks as proof of the high quality of the professionals that work within the service."
Saunders, who will serve a five-year term, said she would continue to implement reforms to improve the performance of the CPS and the wider criminal justice system. "I look forward to carrying on with the fantastic work that Keir Starmer QC has undertaken, ensuring the CPS further improves and continuing with reforms, both within the CPS and more widely in the criminal justice system," she said.

Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James died at Hillsborough, called for Saunders to meet the bereaved families and reassure them that her view of Hillsborough had changed since 1996.

In her new role Saunders will be responsible for considering new investigations into Hillsborough and its aftermath, and decide whether criminal charges should be brought against any people or organisations found to be responsible for the 96 deaths, or in alleged police malpractice that followed.


Aspinall said: "She was one in a long line of people who had blinkers on about what the families were fighting for, the injustice of the inquest, and in preventing us going forward."

A CPS spokesperson said: "The CPS has made it clear that it intends to have on going contact with the bereaved families and their representatives, in order to ensure they remain fully informed and that any views they have can be listened to."

Saunders' role in refusing an appeal against the original 1991 verdict of accidental death is set out in the report by the Hillsborough independent panel, chaired by James Jones, the bishop of Liverpool, published in September last year.

She advised in 1996 that there was no new evidence substantial enough to overturn the original coroner's ruling, that evidence of what caused 96 people to die should be limited to events up to 3.15pm on the day of the disaster. That 3.15pm "cut-off" was based on medical evidence that all the victims had received irreversible injuries by that time.

The cut-off was finally discredited by the independent panel, which found that 41 of the victims might have been saved after 3.15pm with the right medical response.

Saunders began her career at Lloyds of London following a pupillage in a common law set, before joining the CPS in 1986. In her 30-year career she has developed an expertise in issues involving child victims and witnesses.

She became chief crown prosecutor for Sussex in 2001, and she oversaw the prosecution of Roy Whiting for the abduction and murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne. In 2005 she became head of the CPS organised crime division, and in 2009 she was appointed the chief crown prosecutor for CPS London, which deals with about 20% of all CPS work.

Dear mr. Bennett, 

But how about this, then?


"Saunders began her career at Lloyds of London following a pupillage in a common law set, before joining the CPS in 1986. In her 30-year career she has developed an expertise in issues involving child victims and witnesses.

She became chief crown prosecutor for Sussex in 2001, and she oversaw the prosecution of Roy Whiting for the abduction and murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne".

That, surely, must carry some weight?

Portia wrote:Dear Mr. Bennett, 

But how about this, then?

"Saunders began her career at Lloyds of London following a pupillage in a common law set, before joining the CPS in 1986. In her 30-year career she has developed an expertise in issues involving child victims and witnesses.

She became chief crown prosecutor for Sussex in 2001, and she oversaw the prosecution of Roy Whiting for the abduction and murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne".

That, surely, must carry some weight?

OK, she successfully prosecuted Roy Whiting. I think the evidence against him was pretty overwhelming, for which presumably the police need due credit, not her - so although it was a high profile and distressing case, winning it shouldn't have been too difficult.

The Hillsborough cover-up is a disgusting stain on the police and our criminal justice system. Some of the most senior police officers in our country lied through their teeth - and told dozens of their junior officers to lie as well.

There was a cover-up that continued for 23 years.

Alison Saunders must take her fair share of the blame for that cover-up having continued for so long.

She was asked to review the 'accidental death' verdicts.

She failed those families.

Let us hope she doesn't fail them again by not prosecuting these liars in uniform for perjury and perverting the course of justice...

From 2001...Jill Dando and Barry George :

Alison Saunders, a crown prosecution service lawyer who led the work of the prosecution team, said the conviction showed that circumstantial evidence taken together could, despite common misconceptions, be used to build a strong case.
"Many people believe that circumstantial evidence is not as valuable as direct evidence, such as forensic evidence.
"But in this case, each bit of circumstantial evidence was like a piece of a jigsaw, which fitted together to build up the complete and compelling picture."
The Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir John Stevens, said: "This was a protracted and complex investigation and the team worked exceptionally hard to present compelling evidence to the jury.
"Indeed, the judge has commented on just how meticulous an investigation superintendent Hamish Campbell and his officers carried out."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2001/jul/02/jilldando

A little bit more on the circumstantial evidence "which fitted together to build up the complete and compelling picture.":

She added: 'There was other evidence as well such as the firearms residue. But evidence such as the witnesses who identified Barry George as being in the area at the time; his efforts to set up an alibi; the lies he told about his movements on the day '
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Jill+Dando+trial%3A+Barry+George's+case+'a+jigsaw'.-a076155509

Cheshire Cat wrote:From 2001...Jill Dando and Barry George :

Alison Saunders, a crown prosecution service lawyer who led the work of the prosecution team, said the conviction showed that circumstantial evidence taken together could, despite common misconceptions, be used to build a strong case.
"Many people believe that circumstantial evidence is not as valuable as direct evidence, such as forensic evidence.
"But in this case, each bit of circumstantial evidence was like a piece of a jigsaw, which fitted together to build up the complete and compelling picture."
The Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir John Stevens, said: "This was a protracted and complex investigation and the team worked exceptionally hard to present compelling evidence to the jury.
"Indeed, the judge has commented on just how meticulous an investigation superintendent Hamish Campbell and his officers carried out."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2001/jul/02/jilldando

A little bit more on the circumstantial evidence "which fitted together to build up the complete and compelling picture.":

She added: 'There was other evidence as well such as the firearms residue. But evidence such as the witnesses who identified Barry George as being in the area at the time; his efforts to set up an alibi; the lies he told about his movements on the day '
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Jill+Dando+trial%3A+Barry+George's+case+'a+jigsaw'.-a076155509

A case where the 'Angel of Death' and 'tragedy journalist' Clarence Mitchell was the first reporter present and who covered the Jill Dando murder for the BBC.

The role of Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is critical within the criminal justice system of England and Wales.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the organisation that can deliver justice by making independent decisions as to whether there is sufficient evidence to charge a suspect, and when it decides that there is, by prosecuting the case effectively.

It works closely with the police but must always be seen to make independent and dispassionate decisions based upon the evidence gathered.

It can only prosecute when it concludes that there is sufficient evidence for there to be a realistic prospect of conviction, and that the prosecution is in the public interest.

The DPP is the hands-on, day-to-day head of the CPS - which is currently negotiating a period of austerity and modernisation. Maintaining public confidence in it will be critical

Why would she have to go/been to Portugal?

Could she be an aquaintence of CM?

At the present time I have no faith in her..

So do we think that Alison Saunders has been put 'in place' to continue with a perceived cover up of a possible crime?

Has Alison Saunders ever said publicly that an 'abduction' beyond contestation, did happen in the case of the missing child Madeleine McCann?

I know the FO have never said that. They just say Madeleine is a missing person.

some people have a  necessity to nurtere negativisme,  feeling a great plesure on expressing it.
their hobby is paranoia which starts sounding very tiring.
even if the McCanns land behind bars, which will happen, they will not be content because they are not used to feel that way.
what will be the use for them, if the police solve this case, if they keep mistrusting everything?

IMO being cautious about how the investigation will be handled is not paranoia, nor does it mean that people are always negative about everything in life.

jeanmonroe wrote:So do we think that Alison Saunders has been put 'in place' to continue with a perceived cover up of a possible crime?

Has Alison Saunders ever said publicly that an 'abduction' beyond contestation, did happen in the case of the missing child Madeleine McCann?

I know the FO have never said that. They just say Madeleine is a missing person.

Couldn't possibly assume she's been but in place, and I've not read of her using the word abduction.

I've said that at the present time I've no faith in her.

However I do hope she proves me wrong.

marconi, it's always good when negatives are turned into positives by discussion.

plegate totaly agree

Somehow, I would like to believe that a whitewash could not happen in this particular case .The police forces reputation is at a all time low just now , with all the stories that are being printed daily about coverups and bent coppers , they simply cannot do it, there are too many people that know and have read the Police [/b[b]]files. Portugal will never let it happen ( I honestly think this is why the files were released to the public). The general public are sick to death of hearing about the Mcs and nearly all suspect them of being involved in the disappearance of Maddie and that they are not telling the truth .So if they do try to whitewash it, they will never ever be believed and people will expose it for what it is at sometime......

marconi wrote:Some people have a necessity to nurture negativism, feeling a great pleasure on expressing it. Their hobby is paranoia which starts sounding very tiring...

That's exactly what they said about the few who stood up to Hitler after he came to power in 1933. No doubt there were those who were 'negative' about Jimmy Savile when he was alive...

Tony Bennett wrote:

marconi wrote:Some people have a necessity to nurture negativism, feeling a great pleasure on expressing it. Their hobby is paranoia which starts sounding very tiring...

That's exactly what they said about the few who stood up to Hitler after he came to power in 1933.  No doubt there were those who were 'negative' about Jimmy Savile when he was alive...

Well, Margaret Thatcher, Clarence Mitchell's IDOL, certainly wasn't one of them, was she?
   

Tony Bennett wrote:

marconi wrote:Some people have a necessity to nurture negativism, feeling a great pleasure on expressing it. Their hobby is paranoia which starts sounding very tiring...

That's exactly what they said about the few who stood up to Hitler after he came to power in 1933.  No doubt there were those who were 'negative' about Jimmy Savile when he was alive...

To all the pro-whitewashers,


 I understand why you are so negative but to denigrate the police and CPS without definitive proof that this is a whitewash will damage this forum.

The pro-McCann stance is that there is no evidence so everyone should give up, go home and put your cash in an envelope to Kate & Gerry at Rothley.

By constantly asserting that the investigation is a whitewash and disparaging the police you are saying the same to forum members; give up & go home. You aren't simply expressing an opinion, you are pushing people away and wearing your allies down.

Maybe the investigation is a whitewash but, if it is proven to be we won't give up, we'll deal with it.

I've been a member of many forums that have been destroyed because one point of view has been allowed to snowball and destroy all other opinions. Please don't do that here - we're all on the same side.

Please read this post in the spirit it was intended.

Best wishes to everybody.

Poe 

Very well said, Poe.

Tony, we'll all be behind you if/when it's proven to be a whitewash. In the meantime, your posts do appear to be paranoid.

espeland wrote:Very well said, Poe.

Tony, we'll all be behind you if/when it's proven to be a whitewash. In the meantime, your posts do appear to be paranoid.

Thanks for the diagnosis, Dr Espeland!

I believe if you look at my opening post I cut-and-pasted three newpaper articles, one of which contained the information - which I dared to say was concerning - that Alison Saunders had refused in 1996 to reconsider the pleas of bereaved Hillsborough family members for the 'accidental death' verdicts on their family members to be reconsidered. She is explicitly named as the CPS lawyer who made that decision. (I also speculated on her role as a senior lawyer in the Attorney-General's office at a time when he gave hugely controversial advice to Tony Blair that to attack Iraq was legal - a decision since disputed by a great number of experts on international law).

It took another 16 years of committed campaigning by the bereaved and a special panel set up by an M.P. to expose the stream of lies by senior and junior police officers in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster - one of the major police corruption scandals in our time.

I may be alone in wondering how someone who is on record as having made such a misjudgment [Hillsborough] - probably through insufficiently thorough investigative work and a faliure to ask the right questions - can be appointed as the nation's top prosecution lawyer.

The consequences of her failure to review the inquest 'accidental death' verdicts included:

+ a huge delay in getting to the truth

+ over 20 years of expense and anguish for the bereaved families

+ loss of evidence.

As for her trip to Portugal in April with another 'top' CPS lawyer, the only business she could possibly have over there would be to discuss evidence for a criminal prosecution of at least one person in England and Wales - so we will wait and see...


* Am I entitled to a second opinion?

Poe wrote:To all the pro-whitewashers,

I've been a member of many forums that have been destroyed because one point of view has been allowed to snowball and destroy all other opinions. Please don't do that here - we're all on the same side.

I have to say that from the posts I have observed in recent months on this forum, a definite majority here still have faith that Operation Grange is a genuine investigation in pursuit of the truth of what really happened to Madeleine McCann, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.


P.S. Back to the topic, Alison Saunders:


Evening Standard - Published: 23 July 2013

Families of Hillsborough disaster victims have branded Alison Saunders' appointment as the country's top prosecutor as an "absolute disgrace" in light of her record in dealing with the tragedy.

London's Chief Crown Prosecutor Ms Saunders, who has been involved in high-profile cases including the retrial of Stephen Lawrence's killers, is to take over from Keir Starmer QC as Director of Public Prosecutions.

In 1996, as an Attorney General Office advisor to the Solicitor General, she rejected relatives' pleas for a fresh inquest into the death of Kevin Williams, one of the 96 Liverpool fans who died in the disaster on April 15, 1989.

As the woman in charge of the Crown Prosecution Service, she will ultimately decide who should face criminal charges as part of the fresh police investigation into the tragedy launched by the Home Secretary at the end of last year.

Margaret Aspinall, chair of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, which represents the interests of around 70 affected families, has demanded to meet Ms Saunders to confirm if she "still holds the same opinions".

"I would like to meet her," she said. "I want to know does her opinion still stand to this day. If it does not still stand - what made her change her mind and why?

"It's an absolute disgrace she has been appointed as DPP - how is that justice for the 96?"

Kevin Williams' mother Anne campaigned for a fresh inquest into her son's death before she died from cancer in April, fighting against the coroner's findings that he died before the imposed 3.15pm cut-off.

Within documents compiled by the Hillsborough Independent Panel, a report from Ms Saunders concluded that on the "basis of the new evidence put forward" by Kevin's relatives "there is nothing which makes a fresh inquest necessary or in the interests of justice".

Ms Saunders, who also worked on prosecutions stemming from the London riots, joined the CPS in 1986, the year it was formed, and has been Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS London since 2009.

With due respect: that was `"what?" 16 years ago or so. Don't you think she might have learned a lesson or two?

ETA I don't think that anyone of us would want to be judged on what we may have done [wrong...] such a long time ago.

I also wonder why the costs of the SY review/investigation have to be metered out. Has anyone else ever wondered how much any other non-related investigation cost? E.g. how much for the April Jones search?

Châtelaine wrote:With due respect: that was `"what?" 16 years ago or so. Don't you think she might have learned a lesson or two?

 If you read back up the thread, that's just what the bereaved Hillsborough families are asking for. For her to learn her lesson. They want her to admit that she got it wrong, and now that she's the new DPP, they want her to explain when she changed her mind about Hillsborough and why, and to make amends by ensuring that all the dozens of lying police officers are succesfully prosecuted for perjury and perverting the course of justice.

Let's hope that she doesn't disappoint them a second time...

Poe wrote:
Maybe the investigation is a whitewash but, if it is proven to be we won't give up, we'll deal with it.

I've been a member of many forums that have been destroyed because one point of view has been allowed to snowball and destroy all other opinions. Please don't do that here - we're all on the same side.

You've been a member of this forum for six months. Yet you feel that stating one's opinion is not  what we should do - unless it it is a positive response to news.

Why you are an ex member of 'many' forums appears to be because all other opinions were crushed by 'one point of view'.

Fear not, over the years I've had the pleasure of being a member here I've never felt that one point of view  was in danger of being destroyed by another.

Discussion and debate further knowledge - I have given my reasons as to why I believe it's a whitewash and one should take issue with those reasons - that is the strength and purpose of a forum.

I believe that a serious miscarriage of justice has taken place and have so far seen nothing that inspires confidence in the apparent methods to remedy this. I shall go on debating this until the cows come home or as the case may be, this forum is destroyed by a snowballing point of view.

Why would the govt spend millions on a whitewash, doesn't make sense

davel wrote:Why would the govt spend millions on a whitewash, doesn't make sense

 especially because the parents were not seen and still aren't seen as suspects, in the UK.
the government want to get rid of the McCanns.
Besides, Rebekah Brooks blackmaild Cameron, on orde to put the Scotland Yard in the case.
Goal: selling more papers.

we have to be patient and to wait.
In six years, it is the first time that we get such a lot of information. If we would have depended on the PJ, we would have been in complete darkness till now, because of the Portuguese laws.
At least the Met police are talking, Redwood gave a good interview.
Imo, the pre-final step is about to happen: Algarve, and the answer will come from there. Somebody will tell what happened to the body.
 
Every police know how to interrogate.
 
Besides I still believe that at least one of the Tapas has told the truth and that will be enough to put the pressure on the rest.
 
The silence of the McCanns, the lack of new sightings, the disappearance of Kate say more than any interview does.
 
We dont know what is going on behind the scenes.
 
We have to wait.

Back on topic, here is an assessment of Alison Saunders' career - made only last week - in the Law Gazette. The first part about the 'bullying culture' in the CPS is another concern about Saunders. Moreoever, lower down in the article we learn that the civil service department with the lowest morale of any of them is: the CPS.

Towards the end of this article is a very enthusiastic quote about Saunders from one Stephen Parkinson of Kingsley Napley. It was of course lawyers and barristers from Kingsley Napley who co-ordinated the array of legal help that the McCanns were able to call on during the days in September 2007 immediately following their return from Portugal.

As the book: 'madeleine' by Dr Kate McCann (p. 268) informs us:

"On Wednesday 12 September, Gerry was contacted by Edward Smethurst, a commercial lawyer. He represented a businessman called Brian Kennedy...A meeting with Edward and Brian was arranged for that Friday at the Kingsley Napley offices in Lndon. On Friday morning, Angus McBride [from Kingsley Napley] kindly drove to Rothley to pick us up and take us down to London..."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Profile: Alison Saunders

Monday 05 August 2013 by Jonathan Rayner

Biog

BORN Aberdeen

UNIVERSITY graduated in law from Leeds University in 1982

JOBS called to the bar in 1983; pupil at 1 Garden Court; legal adviser at Lloyd’s of London; joined the CPS in 1986; will become DPP on 1 November

++++++++++++

Alison Saunders, the next director of public prosecutions (DPP), inherits a Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) whose lawyers have scant faith in its management and who feel that their work is under-valued, according to the latest Civil Service People Survey that was published in February.

Face to face, some CPS prosecutors are equally blunt. One senior member of the London team, who asked not to be named, told the Gazette that the management culture was centred on ‘fear, blame and bullying’. She said that as London’s chief crown prosecutor, Saunders must bear much of the responsibility for the development of such a culture: ‘If she can’t sort out London, why put her in charge of the entire CPS?’ It is not just members of staff who are unhappy. The CPS, still reeling from 27.5% budget cuts and a 7.5% reduction in lawyer numbers, stands accused by defence lawyers and the police of incompetence and delays in dealing with cases. All of which suggests that Saunders will face an uphill struggle to solve the ills of what is apparently a dysfunctional organisation.

So what, objectively, do we know about Saunders? She is a career prosecutor who joined the CPS upon its formation in 1986 and is the first internal candidate – and only the second woman since Dame Barbara Mills in the 1990s – to be appointed to the top job. She spent the early years of her career with the CPS prosecuting in south London before moving on to work on policy around child victims and witnesses. In 2001, she became chief crown prosecutor for Sussex and, among many hundreds of other cases, oversaw the prosecution of Roy Whiting for the abduction and murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne. After a brief spell as deputy legal adviser to the attorney general, she returned to the CPS to set up its organised crime division, which deals with cross-border and domestic cases of human trafficking, drugs, counterfeiting, money laundering and other serious offences.

In 2009, she became chief crown prosecutor for London, where more than a quarter of all crimes nationally are committed. Since then, she has overseen the successful prosecution and jailing of two of the men who killed black teenager Stephen Lawrence in 1993. More controversially, she also oversaw the prosecution of thousands of people involved in the August 2011 riots in London, when heavy sentences were handed down for sometimes trivial offences.

The present incumbent, Keir Starmer, who is standing down at the end of October on the completion of his five-year term, is a hard act to follow. He has won praise for improving the CPS’s success rate in prosecuting rape and domestic violence cases, and has been an unswerving defender of the Human Rights Act. He is also credited with making the criminal justice system more focused on the needs of victims. Starmer was described by attorney general Dominic Grieve as ‘not just a formidable lawyer’, but one who ‘brought sound instinct and humanity to his role’. Grieve added that Starmer ‘can be proud of the reforms that he and his staff have led to keep our criminal justice system one of the best in the world’.

A hard act to follow, but the great and the good, including Grieve, were quick to rally behind Saunders when her appointment was announced. Grieve said: ‘Alison will make an excellent DPP and is the right person to help the CPS meet the challenges it will face in the coming years. I am particularly pleased that Alison is the first head of the CPS to be appointed from within its ranks as proof of the high quality of the professionals that work within the service.’

Criminal defence solicitors have been largely supportive, too. Anthony Edwards, senior partner at London firm TV Edwards, told the Gazette: ‘She has been a very safe pair of hands in dealing with major casework in London, particularly during the riots of 2011 [for which work she was made a Companion of the Order of Bath].

‘She has enormous experience and has demonstrated sound judgment. She also has casework and policy experience and understands the current issues facing the CPS. Prime among these is the effects of government budget cuts. In London this has meant serious failings in the handling of volume casework, with essential disclosure being a particular problem.’ Edwards adds that when she takes up her new role on 1 November, Saunders will be able to make government aware, ‘from first-hand experience’, of the problems that exist and identify ways forward – which is ‘almost inevitably reducing the volume of low-level divisional crime passing through the courts’.

Another criminal lawyer, solicitor-advocate Malcolm Fowler of West Midlands firm Dennings, says Saunders ‘breaks the mould’ in that she is not a human rights barrister direct from chambers: ‘But neither is she the “grizzled” prosecutor that some Tory MPs wanted as DPP to lock up criminals with little regard for their human rights. If some political elements think she will deliver human rights minus, they are going to be disappointed.’

A third criminal law practitioner, Stephen Parkinson, head of criminal law at London firm Kingsley Napley, says Saunders’ appointment was ‘tremendous news’. He adds: ‘She is a first-class lawyer with great experience and a thorough understanding of the way the CPS works. This appointment is not only good for Alison, but good for the CPS, too. It demonstrates you can join the CPS as a newly qualified solicitor and eventually become DPP. I wish her every success.’

But before we get carried away with unqualified praise of Saunders, there are still some dissenting voices. A second senior CPS prosecutor, who also requested anonymity, told the Gazette he has mixed views on Saunders’ appointment. ‘On the one hand, the attorney general has appointed an in-house career prosecutor rather than leading counsel from within the chambers system and the independent bar, which is a welcome break with the past. On the other hand, management is a big issue within the CPS and Alison is not popular among rank and file prosecutors.

She is seen as careerist and uninspiring. Her appeal for the “Dunkirk spirit” in the face of cutbacks was thought of as an inappropriate analogy.’ He adds that the CPS is a sizeable organisation with some 7,000 lawyers, so Saunders’ management experience is ‘a plus’. However, like Starmer and all the other DPPs, she is a barrister and, although the single largest employer of solicitors, the CPS has still to see a solicitor DPP, he notes.

‘I suspect that the attorney general was impressed by how CPS London stepped up to the plate during the 2011 London riots, for which Alison as chief crown prosecutor can claim much of the credit,’ he says. ‘Nonetheless, CPS London is seen as under-performing, and morale among solicitor prosecutors is low and made worse by budget cuts.’

The two senior CPS prosecutors who spoke to the Gazette are not isolated cases of malcontents, if the findings of the Civil Service People Survey are to be believed. This is an annual survey, carried out by the Cabinet Office, of all civil service departments. It puts around 100 questions to civil servants and collates the results to provide a ‘benchmark’ that is the average score across all departments. It also provides scores for individual departments that can be compared against the benchmark.

The Gazette downloaded the survey from the Cabinet Office website and used it to measure the CPS against the general benchmark, and against the scores registered by the Ministry of Justice. The CPS consistently recorded the lowest scores. On whether management motivates staff to be more effective in their jobs, the benchmark was 66%, the MoJ was 69% and the CPS just 54%. On confidence in management, the benchmark was 71%, the MoJ was 75% and the CPS only 59%.

This pattern was repeated across learning and development opportunities, inclusion and fair treatment, leadership and managing change, and employee engagement. In fact, it was repeated across all areas apart from discrimination and bullying and harassment, for both of which categories of question the CPS recorded higher figures – 14% and 12% respectively – than either the benchmark or the MoJ, which showed just 10%. This, of course, is not a distinction of which to be proud. It certainly seems that Saunders has a hill to climb if she is to turn the CPS around and make its service unite behind its mission to prosecute crime effectively. What are her most urgent in-tray challenges? Commentators are agreed that first and foremost she needs to get her staff onside and motivated to deliver improvements in back-office efficiency and the prosecution of volume crime, as opposed to high-profile, more serious crimes.

They call on her to bring the same high standards that the CPS achieves on these latter crimes to the great mass of smaller crimes that are heard in the Crown and magistrates’ courts. She also needs to rebuild morale after allegations of incompetence and inexperience have been directed at in-house CPS advocates who were introduced to save money spent on external counsel. The latter need more training and encouragement to continue taking cases to the Crown court, which will have the knock-on effect of helping recruitment and raising the status of CPS prosecutors. And finally, she will need the managerial strength to run a service that is under constant scrutiny and that must continually meet higher standards with less money.

Certainly, Saunders herself is bullish about her new role. When her appointment was made public, she was widely reported as saying: ‘I am delighted and privileged to be appointed as the next DPP. To lead an organisation of committed and professional staff is an honour.’


Jonathan Rayner is a reporter on the Gazette

Mixed reviews then Tony. As a general rule I would listen to the worker bees as opposed to the more senior bees who by and large have absolutely no idea what goes on day to day in a Department.

Re. the Hillsborough issue. Let us hope she has learned from past mistakes as one poster has said, but what a heck of a mistake to make, involving so many innocent people and their families. Sheesh.

Tony,
when are you going to realise you are just plain wrong.
You were totally wrong on the Holly Greig case and SY have all but proved you are wrong on the McCann case. They will eventually.
You have made an absolute idiot of yourself.