STENCH & SAUNDERS

‘Toxic’ Alison Saunders’ CPS tenure slammed as she walks away with £1.8m

A string of rape trials - from Lord Janner to Freddie Starr - collapsed at the cost of millions to you under Saunders' watch

Chris Pollard

Published: 23:23, 2 Apr 2018
Updated: 1:18, 3 Apr 2018

THE hated boss of the Crown Prosecution Service was branded “toxic” yesterday after announcing she was stepping down.

Alison Saunders, 57, who oversaw a string of legal disasters that cost taxpayers millions, leaves her £250,000-a-year role in October.

Britain's top prosecutor Alison Saunders has quit her role after a string of rape trails collapsedCredit: PA:Press Association

Saunders will bag an £1,8M pension pot as the legal disasters she oversaw have cost millions to taxpayersCredit: PA:Press Association

She takes with her a £1.8million pension pot after five years as director of public prosecutions.

Her contract is not being renewed following a wave of criticism after the collapse of a series of rape trials due to the non-disclosure of evidence by the CPS.

With every live rape case in the country now being reviewed, the Government was said to be unwilling to extend her deal.

Unrepentant Saunders yesterday insisted it was her decision to quit to take up a lucrative job with private law firm Linklaters.

CASE: SEX ABUSE

CELEBRITIES and VIPs were hounded over baseless allegations of historic sex abuse.

Comics Jimmy Tarbuck, Jim Davidson and Freddie Starr, pictured, all walked free without charge after their names were dragged through the mud.

DJ Paul Gambaccini and former Tory MP Harvey Proctor were also caught up in the fiasco.

CASE: LORD JANNER

SAUNDERS faced calls to resign in 2015 after she decided not to charge Lord Janner over 22 sex abuse allegations dating back to 1960.

Her decision was reversed by an independent QC — making her the first DPP to have a major judgment overturned.

CASE: RAPE REVIEW

A MAJOR review of all live rape cases in England and Wales was launched in January after several trials collapsed.

The CPS had withheld evidence proving defendants, such as Connor Fitzgerald, pictured, were innocent. An inquiry is ongoing.

CASE: ELVEDEN

THE £30million operation saw 21 Sun journalists including Anthony France, pictured, accused of paying public officials and dragged through the courts.

It resulted in no convictions and Saunders was accused of a politically-motivated witch-hunt.

But former Tory MP Harvey Proctor, who was wrongly accused of raping and murdering young boys as part of a Westminster paedophile ring, said: “I am delighted to see the back of her. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

“She has dragged the CPS, and her office, into total disrepute and done untold damage to this country’s once-reputable criminal justice system.

“She’s been a toxic presence in the CPS for far too long.”

Connor Fitzgerald, 20, had rape charges against him thrown out when it emerged his supposed victim had texted pals saying: “I’m not just going to mess his life up, I’m going to ruin it.”

Ex-MP Harvey Proctor who was among the VIPs hounded under her watch said: 'good riddance to bad rubbish'Credit: PA:Press Association

Yesterday he said: “My life was ruined by the CPS under her watch. She should have been sacked a long time ago.

“She was only interested in hearing one side of a story — the side that would help her boost conviction rates.”

Politicians are understood to have been plotting to replace Saunders before her October leaving date to start “repairing the damage” done to the CPS.

Saunders admitted the rape trial scandal was “extremely regrettable” and there are “significant issues”.

But she defended the service and her tenure, saying: “I have 6,000 staff who work really hard every day and our performance has been as good as ever, if not improving, despite the cuts we have taken over that period.”