Posted by Sandbach Hatter on 13/5/2020, 2:05 pm, in reply to "Re: Sir Keir Starmer"
This is summary off t'internet
In 2008 (a few months before Starmer became director of public prosecutions at the CPS) Sussex Police launched an investigation into a possible sexual assault, but took no further action as the complainant did not wish to give evidence. In 2009 the CPS reviewed four sexual assault claims against Savile and felt there was insufficient evidence with which to proceed - again, because none of Savile's accusers were prepared to support police action. Frankly, the CPS makes a lot of decisions like this and it would be strange for the director himself to make the decision personally - that's the responsibility of the reviewing lawyer. We may well question that decision, but asking whether there was in fact sufficient evidence is one thing; to assume that such evidence would have resulted in a conviction is quite another. Have any of us seen the evidence the CPS was presented with? Have those spinning these accusations - or spreading them - actually spoken with any of those who brought the initial complaints against Savile?
Starmer took over a CPS under fire on various fronts and, after 2011, especially on the Savile issue. While he had no personal involvement in the decision not to proceed, Starmer did commission a review, headed by Alison Levitt QC, in which he revealed failures at the heart of the CPS and in 2013 issued an apology. He acknowledged those failures, pledging to change the culture of the CPS and its internal mechanisms. A "fundamental shift" was required, he argued, as "we cannot afford another Savile moment in five or ten years".
While "no improper motives" were found, the Evening Standard reported that one of the review's major criticisms was that "the CPS lawyer (my italics) should have challenged the police conclusions and sought to build a prosecution against Savile". It also suggested the complainants should have been informed that there had been other complaints about Savile, as this would potentially have encouraged them to give evidence. This is a rather stinging evaluation, but not one that pointed to failings on the part of the director himself; indeed, if any of the criticisms are directed at a particular person it is the CPS's reviewing lawyer.
Starmer went further than to apologise on behalf of the CPS. He also argued that legislation should be introduced to require professionals to report suspected child abuse. "Without a change in the law, there'll be another Savile", he warned.
Among the proposed changes Starmer supported were (and I quote directly from Counsel magazine) "greater support for complainants [with] more thought given to the use of pre-recorded cross-examination of child witnesses; the extent to which vulnerable complainants can be subjected to repeated cross-examination; joint police/CPS panels set up to enable those who have made allegations of sexual assault in the past to have their cases looked at again and greater information sharing duties across the Criminal Justice System."
While few would argue there were not serious institutional failures in regards the Savile allegations (indeed, I believe the CPS handled the complaints extremely badly as indeed did Sussex Police), those failures were organisational rather than personal. The allegation that Keir Starmer was individually responsible is as dangerous as it is false.
It's important to understand how the CPS works. It is not a "top down" body in which all decisions are made by the Director of Public Prosecutions. Individual cases are considered by a reviewing lawyer. The lawyer will belong to one of 14 regional teams, each headed up by its own crown prosecutor with responsiblity for prosecuting cases locally. It would be very unusual indeed for the DPP to take an active role in decisions of when or when not to prosecute; the DPP's role is one of providing broader leadership rather than one of micromanagement.