Emily Thornberry MP, Labour’s Shadow Attorney General, responding to news that victims will have the right to challenge a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service not to charge a suspect, said: 

“This is a welcome announcement that acknowledges that victims have rights and that they should be at the heart of the criminal justice system. 

“But it comes at a time when the CPS budget is being slashed by 25 per cent, and when the Director of Public Prosecutions has suggested that some suspects won’t be charged on grounds of cost. What we now need is an assurance from the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, that the CPS will have the resources it needs to carry out this important task. 

“Victims’ expectations of the CPS will have been raised by today’s announcement. The Attorney General must make sure that the CPS is in a position to fulfil them.”