Blunkett announces CPS rebranding

Mr Blunkett said the renaming was suggested by the head of the CPS

The Crown Prosecution Service is to be renamed the Public Prosecution Service, in the hope that the new name will help people feel it is on their side.

Home Secretary David Blunkett announced the change on Tuesday at a community police conference in London.

He said he believed the rebranding would make people feel the CPS "belongs to them in their neighbourhood".

But the Conservatives said it would be "totally unacceptable" to change the name of the CPS without proper debate.

Constitutional Affairs spokesman Alan Duncan said: "It is all part of an increasingly obvious agenda to remove the Crown from everything.

"The government thinks Downing Street is on top of the pile and the world can follow suit."

'Interference'

He claimed prison officers were already "furious" over the decision to rename Her Majesty's Prison Service the National Offender Management Service.

Mr Duncan said: "It is better that our Courts, Prosecution and Prison Service should remain distinct from the interference and arrogance of politicians."

The CPS is responsible for prosecuting people in England and Wales charged with a criminal offence by the police.

We are reassuring the public that these organisations are on their side David Blunkett

Mr Blunkett said the name change was suggested to him last week by Ken MacDonald QC, the director of public prosecutions and head of the CPS.

Mr MacDonald said: "We are a public prosecution service, and for some time I have favoured a change of name to make that clearer.

"This would reflect the major transformation that we are making in the role of prosecutors within the criminal justice system.

"I have discussed this with the attorney general, who takes the same view and I am discussing it with my staff. "

Mr MacDonald said he and Lord Goldsmith would announce any decision at the end of the process.

Speaking after the conference, Mr Blunkett said defence lawyers were always seen to be on the side of the defence.

"We have to get across that the public prosecutor is not neutral - they are on the side of the public," he said.

He added he hoped to announce the Queen's response to the name change soon

Community involvement

Mr Blunkett also expanded on his proposals to get the judiciary more closely involved with the community.

He said he would be seeking to ensure magistrates and district judges held public meetings to get feedback on issues concerning residents.

"A judiciary that has heard nothing, seen nothing and experienced nothing is not one that can respond to the real challenges," he said.

Asked if such meetings could compromise the judiciary's impartiality, he added: "There's nothing wrong in hearing the public and making sensible, balanced judgements.

"I want the judges to be impartial. I want juries to be neutral. But I want the Public Prosecution Service to be on the side of the public in dealing with the perpetrators."