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.
Showing 21 - 30 of 54 results for area "South East"
A man who deliberately drove over another man, following a fight, has been convicted of his murder.Kyle Dumble, 27, was a passenger in a car when the driver spotted a group of people walking home after celebrating a birthday in Hailsham, Sussex, in November 2023. Dumble’s friend, who was driving,…
Christopher Latham was driving at speeds estimated to be between 70 and 90 mph in a residential area of Caterham with a 30-mph limit and was on the wrong side of the road just before losing control and crashing his car into a wall.A woman who was in the rear of the car died, while the other two…
The father and stepmother of a 10-year-old girl whose body was discovered in her bed after the family had fled to Pakistan have today been jailed for her murder.A jury found Urfan Sharif and Beinash Batool guilty of murdering Sara Sharif following a ten-week trial where they heard Sara was…
A man has admitted murdering a woman after ambushing her while she walked back to her car from a Kent beach.Harrison Lawrence-Van Pooss attacked Claire Knights, 54, on 23 August 2023, who had spent the afternoon at Minnis Bay with her dog. She did not know the attacker.Lawrence Van-Pooss had…
A convicted paedophile who sexually abused three boys at his home has been jailed for 20 years today.Christopher Coleman invited the victims to his flat in Milford, near Guildford, offering them alcohol and cannabis, before assaulting them, sometimes while they were asleep.Coleman groomed the…
A man described in court as a “Jekyll and Hyde” character who left victims feeling “helpless and trapped” has been jailed. Following a trial, Ian Hamilton, 63, from Dover, was found guilty of rapes and indecent assaults against 11 different women and girls over a 23-year period between 1976…
Press ReleaseViolent crimeSexual offencesSouth East
The father and stepmother of a 10-year-old girl whose body was discovered in her bed after the family had fled to Pakistan have today been convicted of her murder.Urfan Sharif and Beinash Batool have been found guilty of murdering Sara Sharif following what the court heard was a “campaign of abuse”…
A sexual predator has been sentenced to 10 years and six months' imprisonment with an additional five years on extended licence for raping a woman in a hotel room after he drove her from London to Kent in a pre-planned assault.Seyi Odeyemi met the woman after she went to an event in Camden in…
A man described in court as a “Jekyll and Hyde” character who left his victims feeling “helpless and trapped” has been convicted of a series of violent sexual offences against 11 different women and girls. Ian Hamilton, 63, from Dover, was found guilty of rapes and indecent assaults over a 23…
Press ReleaseSexual offencesDomestic abuseSouth East
A care worker who had sex without the consent of a vulnerable young disabled woman in a care home in Maidstone has today been jailed. Police were called after a condom wrapper was found in the woman’s room on the morning of 8 May 2024.Issoop Naguib Lootfun, 69, one of the care workers at the…
Press ReleaseSexual offencesSouth East
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.
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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.
