CPS News Brief

CPS authorises charge of murder over death of Richard Mannington Bowes

The Crown Prosecution Service has this evening authorised the Metropolitan Police Service to charge a 16 year old male with the murder of Richard Mannington Bowes. Mr Bowes died on 11 August 2011 after being assaulted in Ealing, London, on 8 August 2011.

The teenager is also charged with violent disorder and four separate burglaries of commercial premises. His mother is also charged with doing an act that tended to pervert the course of public justice.

Daren Streeter, Head of CPS London Homicide Unit, said:

“The CPS has this evening authorised that a 16 year old male should be charged with the murder of Richard Mannington Bowes.

“At this stage, there is a reasonable suspicion that the 16 year old was responsible for the unlawful killing of Mr Bowes. It is clearly in the public interest that he be prosecuted for this offence.

“As with all prosecutions, we will keep the case against the defendant under review and consider any new evidence provided to us by the police during their ongoing investigation into this incident.”

The 16 year old will appear at Croydon Magistrates’ Court tomorrow morning, Tuesday 16 August 2011.

Two charged with three counts of murder following deaths in Winson Green, Birmingham

The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised West Midlands Police to charge two men, Joshua Donald and a youth, with three counts of murder in relation to an incident on 10 August in Winson Green, Birmingham.

Martin Lindop, reviewing lawyer for CPS West Midlands, said:

“I have decided that Joshua Donald and a youth should be charged with murder following the deaths of Haroon Jahan, Shahzad Ali and Abdul Musavir on 10 August. It is alleged that Donald and the youth were involved in the incident that led to these tragic deaths.

“This decision was taken in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors. There is sufficient evidence to prosecute the defendants and it is in the public interest to do so.”

The defendants will appear at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on 14 August 2011.

The police investigation into this incident is continuing.

CPS Diary - Week of 15 August

Monday

• First appearance at Lewes Crown Court for seven defendants charged in relation to disorder at HMP Ford, Sussex, in January.

• Three men charged with conspiracy to steal, theft and conspiracy to commit a bomb hoax following an incident at a bank in Watford on 2 June will appear at St Albans Crown Court.

Tuesday

• Sentencing hearings for defendants who pleaded guilty to committing offences during public disorder in Manchester last week will begin at Manchester Crown Court.

Wednesday

• Glenn Mangham will appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court charged with five counts under the Computer Misuse Act.

Friday

• Plea and case management at Croydon Crown Court for two men charged with aggravated vehicle taking. This charge follows the death of Charles Bunyasi, who died after he tried to stop his delivery van from being stolen.

• Fifteen of the defendants charged in relation to the protest at Fortnum and Mason in March will appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court for a plea and case management hearing.

CPS continues work to deliver justice following public disorder

Crown Prosecution Service staff will continue their hard work over the weekend and in the coming weeks to deal effectively and efficiently with the prosecutions arising from the recent public disorder.

Prosecutors are working very closely with police forces across the country to authorise charges against suspects and prepare the evidence in cases, some of which will be sentenced in the Crown Courts next week following early guilty pleas in the magistrates’ courts.

Dedicated teams will be on duty all weekend to prepare the evidence for sentencing hearings. We expect the sentencing of offenders to begin early next week.

Impact statements are being prepared on how communities and businesses have been affected by the disorder. These statements will complement the evidence against the defendants, such as eye witness accounts and CCTV footage.

Individuals who have admitted the same offence (e.g. burgling the same commercial premises) will be sentenced together as far as possible, allowing the courts to address the full impact of the criminal behaviour when considering the sentence. It also ensures that the sentences are consistent and that the cases are finalised as quickly as possible.

This is standard practice in instances of mass disorder. Groups of football hooligans are often prosecuted and sentenced together as the basis of the criminality is the same for every defendant.

Defendants being sentenced in the Crown Court face up to a maximum of five years’ imprisonment for violent disorder. Those charged with burglary face up to a maximum of 10 years for burgling commercial premises and a maximum of 14 years for burgling residential properties.

The work to charge arrested suspects and those facing arrest is also continuing.

CPS Direct, our out-of-hours charging service, is providing a robust and efficient service throughout the night. On Wednesday and Thursday nights, nearly all calls from police officers to prosecutors were answered very quickly. Already 1,600 people have been arrested and 796 have appeared before the courts. Two thirds (66%) of those charged at this stage have been remanded into immediate custody. We expect many more charges to follow in the coming days.

Magistrates’ courts will be sitting on both Saturday and Sunday for the large number of anticipated first hearings.

This will follow a busy week for prosecutors, who have been working shifts in courts that have operated almost constantly for the past four days. Their willingness to volunteer for these duties and help keep the criminal justice system moving in extraordinary circumstances is a testament to their professionalism and commitment to seeing that justice is done.

CPS facts on disorders

CPS facts on national disorders 

11 August

• Prosecutors throughout the CPS have shown true professionalism and in addition to their working day have done shifts in courts which have stayed open all night.

 

• Three prosecutors shared shifts at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court from 11pm (on the 10th) till 5am. In addition, 59 cases were dealt with this morning between 5am and 9am.

 

• Two prosecutors shared shifts and worked overnight until 6am at Solihull Magistrates’ Court after which, they carried on this morning with their normal day work.

 

• Four prosecutors worked all night at Manchester City Magistrates' Court.

The CPS London day time charging centre has provided since August 10 an enhanced service to the police in response to the exceptional circumstances. Of calls to the centre, above 93 per cent have been answered in less than ten seconds. In normal circumstances, the agreed service level with the police is that 75 per cent of all calls are answered within 180 seconds.

Between 5pm yesterday and 9am this morning, our out-of hours charging service, CPS Direct, dealt with 97 disorder related cases across the country.

10 August

10 CPS prosecutors presented 64 cases in Camberwell Green and Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Courts until the early hours of the morning. This included very senior lawyers such as the Chief Crown Prosecutor for London, Alison Saunders, who prosecuted cases from 4am at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court.

Between 5pm on the 9th August and 9am on the 10th, CPS Direct, dealt with 105 disorder related cases across the country. The majority of these cases were from the Metropolitan Police. This represents more than 30 per cent of the workload for CPS Direct for the night.

CPS London responds to public disorder

Alison Saunders, Chief Crown Prosecutor for London, said:

“CPS London is doing all it can to ensure the successful prosecution of the individuals responsible and the future safety of Londoners.

“We have put in place a number of measures to ensure that the individuals committing these crimes are brought to justice swiftly and effectively.

“We are working closely with the police and have a team of prosecutors available to provide charging decisions 24/7 as quickly as possible. To take forward the prosecution of those responsible, we have set up a dedicated team.

“CPS London is also deploying prosecutors to police operational sites in London to provide on the spot charging advice to officers. We are working closely with the Courts Service to coordinate and expedite cases arising from the disorder, and have established designated magistrates’ courts to deal with them.”

Investigation into Jersey Police will not be considered by CPS

A story yesterday in the Sunday Mirror said that seven members of Jersey Police are being questioned over allegations of perverting the course of justice. The Sunday Mirror story says the CPS will decide if they should face trial. This is not correct.

The CPS only has jurisdiction over cases in England and Wales; it has no responsibility for advising or prosecuting cases on Jersey.

The Hampshire Police investigation report will be passed to the Law Officers’ Department of the Attorney General of Jersey who will decide what, if any, action should be taken.

-CPS Diary- Week of 8 August

• The jury is expected to go out this week in the case of Fiona Donnison currently on trial at Lewes Crown Court. She is charged with murdering her children after their bodies were found in a car boot in East Sussex in January 2010.

Monday 8 August

• Ched Evans and Clayton McDonald, first appearance at Prestatyn Magistrates’ Court charged with rape. Ched Evans is a Welsh international footballer playing for Sheffield United.

Wednesday 10 August

• The District Judge at Belmarsh Magistrates’ Court will give a ruling on Shrien Dewani’s extradition. He is facing extradition to South Africa where he is suspected of murdering his wife.

Company director to face manslaughter charge for death of Meg Burgess

We have decided that George Collier should be charged with gross negligence manslaughter in relation to the death of Meg Burgess on 26 July 2008 in Prestatyn, Wales.

Meg Burgess, aged three, was killed when a wall designed by Mr Collier and constructed by his company, Parcol Developments Limited, collapsed on to a public footpath in Ffordd Penrhwyfla.

Rosemary Ainslie, reviewing lawyer for the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said:

“I have carefully reviewed all of the evidence gathered by North Wales Police and the Health and Safety Executive during their thorough investigation into the tragic death of Meg Burgess in July 2008.

“After considering reports from experts on construction standards and advice from counsel, I have decided that George Collier should be charged with gross negligence manslaughter for his role in designing and constructing the wall that collapsed. Mr Collier has been summonsed to appear at Prestatyn Magistrates’ Court on 3 October 2011.

“I have also decided that Parcol Developments Limited, of which Mr Collier was a director, should be charged with an offence under Section 3 of the Health and Safety Act at Work 1974. Section 3 requires all employers to conduct their business in a way that ensures, so far as is reasonably practicable, that others are not exposed to risk.

“I did consider whether Parcol Developments should also be charged with corporate manslaughter. There is sufficient evidence to prosecute the company for this offence, but it would not be in the public interest to do so. The company had only two directors and Mr Collier was the only one directly involved in this incident. The charge against him is sufficiently serious to address the alleged offending.”

Senior Investigating Officer Mark Abbott of North Wales Police said:

“The family have been kept fully updated throughout the investigation and they have been informed of this decision.

“This remains a difficult time for the family and they request that their privacy is respected.”

Letter to the Independent concerning Ratcliffe on Soar cases

A recent report in the Independent claimed that the Court of Appeal had found the CPS deliberately withheld evidence about an undercover officer in the Ratcliffe on Soar power station cases.

This is not correct. Mike Kennedy, Chief Operating Officer for the CPS, has written to the Independent:

"While we recognise that evidence was not disclosed to the defence in the Ratcliffe on Soar cases as it should have been, the Court of Appeal did not rule that this was a deliberate act by the Crown Prosecution Service.

"The Appeal Court specifically declined to rule on the actual circumstances of the non disclosure, in view of the number of ongoing inquiries into the issues and police and CPS actions in the case."

DPP celebrates the best of the CPS

We are now celebrating the CPS's best work every month. Keir Starmer QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions, says:

"I want the public to know about some of the really excellent work that our lawyers, caseworkers and other staff do on a daily basis.

"So we are now publishing, each month, a few examples of projects or cases where work by individuals should be celebrated. To that end, we have created a 'Successes of the Month' section on the website.

"I am proud of the fantastic work that our staff carry out up and down the country and I hope you take some time out to read the first 'Successes of the Month'."

One of this month's successes was the creation of a spreadsheet that accurately calculates custody time limits (CTL). Keeping track of a CTL is essential for protecting the public as an exceeded limit can, in some circumstances, lead to an individual being released from custody before their trial. Since the 1980s, staff have relied on their fingers and calendars to calculate the CTL expiry date, which carries with it the normal human error risks.

Anthony Madison, a CPS performance management analyst, has created an extremely clever and useful Microsoft Excel tool to calculate difficult CTL expiry dates, which has been very warmly received across the CPS.

Having designed this calculator, Anthony then developed his own CTL calculator app for his personal smartphone. He is now developing the app for other platforms.

Read more Successes of the Month.

CPS Diary – Week of 1 August

Monday

• Rebecca Leighton, charged last week with criminal damage intending to endanger life in relation to the tampering of equipment at Stepping Hill Hospital, will appear for a preliminary hearing at Manchester Crown Court.

Tuesday

• Jonathan May-Bowles will be sentenced at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty today to assault and causing harassment, alarm or distress during a recent House of Commons committee hearing.

• The directors of Lion Steel Ltd will appear for a first hearing at Tameside Magistrates' Court to face charges of gross negligence manslaughter in relation to the death of Steven Berry. The company also faces a charge of corporate manslaughter, the second such charge of its kind.

CPS statement on Bilal Ahmad

Moira Macmillan, senior lawyer in the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division said:

“The sentencing of Bilal Ahmad today sends a warning to people who would seek to encourage violent extremism or to stir up hatred on the internet.

“People are entitled to express their views on the internet and elsewhere. The law seeks to protect the right of all to freedom of speech as is necessary in a democratic society. However, Bilal Ahmad crossed the line from expressing views which some might find unwelcome into serious criminal behaviour, going far beyond what the law allows.

“He was charged with soliciting to murder members of the UK Parliament after he posted an article on a website following the conviction in November 2010 of Roshonara Choudhry for the attempted murder of MP Stephen Timms.

"In this article, Bilal Ahmad encouraged others to follow her example. This is a serious offence which strikes at the heart of our democratic society and once I was satisfied the evidence was there, the public interest clearly required a prosecution. Bilal Ahmad was also charged with publishing material intending to stir up religious hatred; this is the first successful prosecution for this offence.

“A thorough investigation by West Midlands Police meant that when he was confronted with the evidence, Bilal Ahmad entered guilty pleas to five offences. These pleas took into account the range of his criminal behaviour.”

Paul Wilson sentenced to life imprisonment for 46 sexual offences against 23 young girls

A former nursery worker has today been sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court to life imprisonment after he had pleaded guilty to 46 sexual offences, including oral rape of a three-year-old child at the nursery where he worked, and offences involving young girls from around the country.

In January 2011, Paul Wilson, aged 21, was arrested and subsequently charged with two counts of oral rape of a child at the Little Star Nursery in Nechells, Birmingham. Following his arrest, officers from West Midlands Police conducted an examination of Mr Wilson’s computers and he was charged with further offences of making indecent photographs of children, distributing indecent photographs of children and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Wendy Bounds, Complex Casework Lawyer from the West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Complex Casework Unit, said:

“This has been a very complex and sensitive case involving 23 individuals aged between three and 16 years of age from across the country.

“Paul Wilson preyed on vulnerable young girls who he encountered in internet chat rooms. He hid his real identity and led the girls to think he was a friend and asked them to turn their webcams on and by this means he was able to see them in intimate situations.

“If his initial approach under a false identity was unsuccessful, he would then use multiple further aliases on social networking sites to either gain their trust or threaten them in order to get them to perform sexual acts, which he could watch. If one alias was rejected by the intended target, he would return again and again, using different profiles, sometimes that of a female, until either threats or persuasion made them perform sexual acts as he wanted.

“Unfortunately the teenage girls did not realise that they were in effect allowing a stranger into their bedroom with a camera. The risk is that the resulting pictures saved in the stranger’s computer can then be sent on to others unknown to the girl. This did happen to one of the young girls in this case when the pictures were then sent on to another male.

“He then took this one step further by targeting and orally raping a vulnerable three year-old girl at a nursery where he was working. Unfortunately, concerns raised by other staff about his behaviour and the appropriateness of his relationship with the little girl did not prevent this happening.

“It took a brave young teenage girl to come forward and report his abuse to the police. This led to his arrest and this offending coming to light.

“We hope that this case sends out a clear message to everyone who uses social networking sites to be vigilant at all times when using such networks and to report any suspicious behaviour or requests to the appropriate authorities.

“Finally, the prosecution team would like to thank the victims and their families for the support that they have provided to the investigation and prosecution. Without their assistance and the thorough investigation by the police, we would not be here today.”

The offences which were committed on the social networking site were via Windows Live Messenger and were carried out between 2005 and 2011 on 22 individuals aged between 12 years-old and 16 years-old from across the country.

Rebecca Leighton charged with criminal damage intending to endanger life

We have authorised Greater Manchester Police to charge Rebecca Leighton, a nurse at Stepping Hill Hospital, with three charges of criminal damage intending to endanger life, three charges of criminal damage being reckless as to whether life would be endangered and one charge of theft.

Nazir Afzal, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said:

“We have carefully considered the evidence that the police have referred to us at this stage of their investigations into the unexplained deaths of five patients at Stepping Hill Hospital. We have now decided that there is sufficient evidence to charge Rebecca Leighton with three charges of criminal damage intending to endanger life, three charges of criminal damage being reckless as to whether life would be endangered and one charge of theft.

“These are serious charges that relate to allegations that Rebecca Leighton tampered with medical products, saline ampoules and saline bags in Stepping Hill Hospital and by doing so endangered the lives of patients. She will appear at City Magistrates’ Court, Manchester, on 23 July.

“This is a complex, ongoing police investigation. We will continue to work with police and provide advice as they continue their detailed enquiries. We will of course review any further evidence they provide to us and decide whether any further charges should be brought.

“Rebecca Leighton is charged with serious offences, proceedings are active under the Contempt of Court Act 1981, and it is extremely important that nothing should be reported which could prejudice a fair trial.”

The maximum sentence for criminal damage intending to endanger life or being reckless as to whether life would be endangered is life imprisonment. The maximum sentence for theft is seven years imprisonment.