The hunt for a new UK Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has been formally launched, the Attorney General, Rt Hon Victoria Prentis KC MP has announced.

The current DPP, Max Hill KC, will stand down on 31 October at the end of his five-year term.

Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, was a former DPP, serving between 2008 and 2013.

Prentis said: “Max Hill has provided the CPS with strong leadership throughout his tenure as Director of Public Prosecutions.

“He has successfully navigated the challenges brought by the Pandemic and made significant progress in transforming the organisation’s approach to prosecuting rape and serious sexual offences.

“The CPS is also improving victim support in these complex cases. I’d like to thank him for his service and have no doubt he will be greatly missed by his CPS colleagues.

“In recruiting the next DPP we will be looking for a similarly accomplished candidate. The job requires excellent legal judgement, the ability to lead a large organisation and the capacity to work with others in improving the criminal justice system as a whole.”

Early in Sir Keir’s term in office, he upheld a decision not to prosecute the police officers who had killed Jean Charles de Menezes in a UK High Court appeal lodged by the family. They gave up on pursuing charges and no one has since been charged.

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