Private prosecutions soar after authorities ‘lose faith’ in the CPS
BUSINESSES and public authorities have lost confidence in the Crown Prosecution Service, leading to rising numbers of private prosecutions, a QC has said.
The public prosecutor has failed to act in cases where there has been compelling evidence, it is said, and as a result those who find themselves victim to criminal acts have been forced to pursue private justice.
There are no official figures for the number of private prosecutions taking place, but legal firms who deal with the cases have reported an “enormous” rise in the number.
It comes just days after the High Court threw out a private prosecution against Boris Johnson for comments he made during the EU referendum campaign.
Charles Bott QC and solicitor Andrew Manners have acted together on several private prosecutions, including
One mower time
a complex fraud case worth more than £12 million. They say that years of cuts have meant businesses and increasingly judges having little faith in the ability of the state to carry out a prosecution.
Public authorities have even approached the solicitors to inquire about prosecuting cases that they have already investigated but have been unable to get the CPS to show any interest.
Mr Manners, a director at Morgan La Roche solicitors, said: “In respect of frauds especially, there is a real lack of confidence in the police and CPS.
“The state agencies haven’t been doing their jobs properly for some time which may be down to resources but there seems to be no appetite to take on quite compelling cases.
“For public authorities which discover fraud, for example, deterrence is a significant factor and so they want to take cases to prosecution and they are finding resistance from the CPS.”
Last year, in the biggest case of its kind, former car dealer Paul Sultana was jailed for eight years for a multimillion pound investment fraud that the state has refused to take on.
“The CPS is always looking for the option that costs the least,” Mr Bott, head of Carmelite Chambers, said.
“One of the things that we see is that the courts often have little confidence in the CPS.”
A CPS spokesman said: “Last year the CPS’s Serious Fraud Division prosecuted 2,779 defendants and secured convictions in 78 per cent of these cases.
“Our decisions to prosecute are based on whether our legal test is met – not any financial consideration.”
‘In respect of frauds especially, there is a real lack of confidence in the police and CPS’