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.
Originally published 24 July 2025.A man who preyed on people in the Canal Street area of Manchester, known as the ‘gay village’, has been jailed for life with a 16-year minimum term at Manchester Crown Court, after being found guilty of raping two men and one woman in a series of attacks.Mourad…
A patient who attempted to murder a nurse with scissors, causing her to end up in intensive care, has been found guilty following a trial at Minshull Street Crown Court.Romon Haque, 38, viciously stabbed the nurse with scissors in an unprovoked, frenzied attack.Claire Aitken, Senior Crown…
Wendy Logan, District Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: “John Belfield was responsible for leading a meticulously planned attack to kill Thomas Campbell. Evidence presented by the prosecution made it clear that Belfield had orchestrated this attack and left no stone unturned to ensure it…
A man who abused his position by granting asylum applications for money has been jailed today.Imran Mulla, 39, was jailed for four and a half years, having pleaded guilty to immigration offences and bribery after manipulating the system to overturn a refused asylum claim.Another man, Nural Amin…
A man has been jailed today for his involvement in the sexual exploitation and trafficking of women.Laszlo Matus, 53, conspired with the previously sentenced Melinda Petrovics 35, and Attila Angyal 43, to control women, transporting them across the North West and forcing them to carry out sexual…
Suzanne Llewellyn, Chief Crown Prosecutor of CPS North West, said:“The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised the prosecution of two men in relation to the death of a 13-month-old boy in Blackpool.“Jamie Varley, 36, of Grimsargh in Lancashire, has been charged with the murder of baby Preston…
Press ReleaseViolent crimeSexual offencesNorth West
A psychiatrist who inappropriately touched his patients has been found guilty of three counts of sexual assault following a trial at Bolton Crown Court.Dr Vijay Gaikwad, 44, denied sexually assaulting his patients, claiming he had not conducted physical examinations of the three women.Gill Petrovic…
A man who deliberately drove into a police officer in Stockport has been sentenced today at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.Harvey Bell, 19, was sentenced to 31 months' custody in a Young Offender Institution and was disqualified from driving for two years.Victoria Agulló, Senior Crown…
A man has been jailed today for causing the death of three-year-old Louisa (Lulu) Palmisano, after the van he was driving struck a tram and mounted the pavement.Rawal Rehman, 36, was jailed at Manchester Crown Court for 12 years and disqualified from driving for over 13 years.On 22 February 2025 at…
Nicola Wells, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: “Four Just Stop Oil protesters have been sentenced today after they were intercepted by the police on route to cause disruption at Manchester Airport on 5 August 2024.“This was a targeted attack, at the height of summer, against one of…
Press ReleaseNorth West
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
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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.
