Attorney-general praises ‘stellar’ career of veteran defence lawyer
One of the City of London’s best-known white collar criminal defence lawyers has been appointed as the UK’s new director of public prosecutions.
Stephen Parkinson, who recently retired as senior partner at law firm Kingsley Napley, will replace Max Hill KC from November as DPP and head of the Crown Prosecution Service, the government said on Thursday.
Parkinson, who initially trained as a barrister before qualifying as a solicitor, has spent the past 20 years as a defence lawyer.
Before, he held down several high-profile roles in government, notably in the Treasury Solicitor’s Department, where he was responsible for most of the government’s regulatory litigation.
During his career, Parkinson advised former prime minister Sir Tony Blair and his cabinet on the Hutton inquiry, which investigated the 2003 death of David Kelly, a biological weapons expert.
He represented Lord Ian Blair, former Metropolitan Police commissioner, and other officers in the Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation following the 2005 London shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.
Parkinson has also represented senior executives and companies including Tesco during Serious Fraud Office probes, and was hired by Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of media group News UK, during the investigation phase of the phone hacking scandal at the now-defunct News of the World newspaper.
Attorney-general Victoria Prentis KC said Parkinson had had a “stellar” legal career, adding: “I have every confidence he will be a collaborative director and a principled and independent prosecutor.”
Chambers UK, a legal guide, this year described Parkinson as a “widely respected figure in the financial crime market with notable experience in large-scale SFO investigations”. One contributor said he was “deeply ingrained in” the field and “an incredible leader”.
Lubna Shuja, president of the Law Society of England and Wales, welcomed Parkinson’s appointment, noting: “His experience as a solicitor over many years, and previously as a barrister, means he will have a good understanding of the many issues affecting our criminal justice system.”
Parkinson takes over at a difficult time for the criminal justice system, where the backlog of trials is still growing.
Data published on Thursday by the Ministry of Justice showed that, at the end of July, the crown court backlog of criminal cases had increased to 64,015, up from 63,613 in June and 59,361 a year ago.
The government has pledged to reduce the backlog to 53,000 by March 2025, but Shuja called the increase “very alarming”.
Parkinson must also try to restore public confidence in the justice system, particularly in increasing rape prosecutions and conviction rates.
Dame Vera Baird, former victims’ commissioner, voiced concern last year that only 5 per cent of rapes given an outcome by police in the 12 months to December 2021 resulted in a criminal charge.
Source: Financial Times
