CPS says courts did not receive all relevant information and outlines changes for prosecutors
Simon Levy case: the Crown Prosecution Service has acknowledged a serious failing in the handling of the case, saying the court was not given all the information it should have had when decisions were being made about Levy.
In a statement published on 13 August 2026, Stephen Parkinson, Director of Public Prosecutions and head of the Crown Prosecution Service, said the CPS had not met the standard the public should expect and apologised for the failure.
Parkinson said the case demonstrated the need for the CPS, police and courts to work together more effectively, particularly on information-sharing, identifying risk and making decisions at key stages of the criminal justice process.
The CPS has already begun changes following issues identified in its handling of the case.
Prosecutors working in busy remand courts will receive more support, with the CPS saying they need sufficient time, information and assistance to make appropriate decisions. Further training and stronger checks are also being introduced around bail, remand hearings and risk management.
The measures are intended to focus on cases involving potential patterns of offending, situations where victims may face serious risk and circumstances requiring prosecutors to act quickly while carefully assessing the available information.
The CPS is also working with police to improve information-sharing. The stated aim is to ensure prosecutors, courts and the defence have the appropriate information when decisions about bail are made.
A key practice point for prosecutors is the CPS’s updated guidance on information provided to courts. The guidance says prosecutors should give courts the right information as early as possible, including victims’ views where relevant.
It also makes clear that prosecutors should tell the court about a defendant’s pattern of bad behaviour where it is relevant to the court’s decision, even when that behaviour has not resulted in a conviction.
The CPS said it has renewed its focus on protecting communities by ensuring prosecutors seek to keep dangerous offenders in custody where the legal test is met. It is also maintaining a focus on bail applications and bail appeals, with training emphasising risk assessment in high-risk cases. Further training for prosecutors across London is already being delivered.
The statement also sets out wider CPS work concerning violence against women and girls. Parkinson said the CPS had charged more rape suspects last year than at any point in the previous 20 years. Prosecutors charged nearly four out of every five rape cases referred by police, described by the CPS as the highest rate on record, while six out of ten cases resulted in a conviction.
The CPS said those figures did not reduce the seriousness of the Simon Levy case and that continued improvement was necessary to give victims confidence that cases would be handled properly from the outset.
The service is also working with police to reduce investigation and decision-making times so cases can reach court more quickly. Its five-year strategy on violence against women and girls considers how different forms of offending can overlap, particularly where domestic abuse is involved, to help prosecutors assess risk more clearly.
The CPS said it is also working with police earlier in investigations and reviewing the quality of advice provided under its rape action plan.
Parkinson said the lessons from the case must lead to practical changes across the criminal justice system, with agencies sharing information properly, identifying risk quickly and acting decisively when women and girls may be in danger.