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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Nicola Bartlett

Alison Saunders made a dame despite being dubbed the worst ever CPS chief

Alison Saunders has been made a dame despite being dubbed the worst Director of Public Prosecutions in living memory.

Ms Saunders, who stood down in 2018, was snubbed by the committee last year – the first ex-head of the Crown Prosecution Service to be overlooked.

As CPS boss she oversaw the successful prosecution of the killers of Stephen Lawrence.

But she was heavily criticised for deciding not to charge Lord Janner with child sex crimes.

Saunders said the Labour peer was unable to face trial because of his advanced dementia, despite no court assessment of his health being carried out. He was only questioned once and died in 2015.

The CPS chief oversaw the successful prosecution of Stephen Lawrence's killers (PA)

She also took flak for presiding over several rape cases that collapsed because the prosecution failed to disclose evidence.

Under her leadership, prosecutions in England and Wales that collapsed due to disclosure failings went up 70% in two years.

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