Criminal cases that the Crown Prosecution Service take to court are in the news every day. This section also covers many issues related to our work, including violence against women and girls, hate crime, support for victims and witnesses, statistics, and speeches by the Director of Public Prosecutions and other senior staff.
Latest news
You can find our latest news stories here and search for older stories. You can also find more information about high-profile cases and the work of the CPS.
Working with the media
To make criminal court reporting more open, the CPS, police, and media representatives created a joint protocol (agreement) for working together. We are currently working on an updated version of the protocol.
A far-right activist who set up an online library of racist stickers for supporters to download and put up in their area has been jailed. Samuel Melia, 34, a regional organiser for right-wing organisation Patriotic Alternative, distributed the printable stickers via an online channel with the…
Nick Price, Head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: “The CPS has authorised a charge of conspiracy to conduct espionage against a sixth person suspected of spying for Russia.“Tihomir Ivanchev, 38, will be charged with conspiring to obtain, collect, record, publish or…
A fourth person has been charged following a protest at the home of the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on 3 August.The CPS has authorised a single count of criminal damage against Michael Grant, 64, and he will appear at York Magistrates' Court on 21 March. Grant will appear alongside Mathieu…
Rosemary Ainslie, Head of the CPS Special Crime Division, said: “Following a review of the evidence provided by North Yorkshire Police, we have authorised criminal charges against one man and two women after a protest at the home of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on 3 August 2023.“Mathieu Soete, 38,…
The second moderator of a dark web forum for sharing indecent pictures of children to be jailed within a week has today received five years and four months in prison.William Yates, 45, admitted running The Annex, a membership-only forum which hosted a number of areas dedicated to child sexual abuse…
A drug dealer who was caught red-handed with party bags containing cannisters of laughing gas alongside balloons and candy canes has become the first person to be jailed for possession of the class C drug since it was outlawed by the Home Office.Thomas Salton, 30, from Brentwood in Essex was found…
A prison support worker has been sentenced after he was previously convicted of misconduct in public office for fabricating the number of welfare check he carried out on a vulnerable prisoner.Graham Evans, 67, was on overnight duty at HMP Hewell in Worcestershire on 7 June 2018 and was required to…
A ex-council worker and a roofing firm worker have been jailed for fraud and bribery after they conspired to defraud New Forest District Council.Former council maintenance operative Richard Cullen, aged 55 from Luton, received bribes from 34-year-old Mark Diaper, who worked at a roofing company in…
A former Essex Police officer has been convicted of sexually assaulting a woman after a night out and filming it.Steven Tissier, 37, thought the woman was asleep on a sofa when he touched her leg, thigh and bottom. Later, after she woke up and was waiting for a taxi to take her home, he sexually…
A company has been fined £450,000 and the firm’s director has received a suspended prison sentence after a labourer was crushed to death at a construction site.Simon Briggs, 61, principal director of Stonehurst Estates Ltd, was today sentenced to 23 weeks' imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, for…
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Press Office contact details
Please note that our Press Office is NOT able to deal with issues or queries from members of the public - these contact details are for accredited journalists ONLY. Do not call this number unless you a member of the press. For all general enquiries, please visit contact.cps.gov.uk.
If you are a national or international journalist with a media enquiry, you can contact the CPS Press Office on 020 3357 0906 or email [email protected] (9am-5pm weekdays only).
For out-of-hours media enquiries please call 020 3357 0906 to reach the duty press officer.
If you follow us on social media, you can expect posts covering some or all of the following:
Operational updates on decisions to prosecute or take no further action;
Reactions and statements on trial outcomes;
Policy updates from the Director of Public Prosecutions and other prosecutors;
Updates on media appearances by CPS staff
Content that explains the role of the CPS and how we work
Highlighting of relevant work by our criminal justice partners and other stakeholders
We will aim to be fair and accurate in all the information we publish. We will aim to correct any inaccuracies as soon as possible.
We are unable to monitor social media round the clock. We are not able to engage with all those who seek a response from us due to resources but also due to privacy and the sensitive nature of some of our work. The best way to contact the CPS is through our website.
Please do not try to report crime using social media. To report crime, please call 101 or visit your local police station. In an emergency, always call 999.
If you follow us on social media we will not automatically follow you back. Being followed by us does not imply endorsement of any kind.
Media protocol
To ensure greater openness in the reporting of criminal proceedings, the CPS, the police and media representatives developed a joint protocol for working together. We are currently in the process of updating the protocol.
