Mike Fuller to become HM Crown Prosecution Service Chief Inspector.
2 February 2010
The Attorney General, Baroness Scotland QC, has appointed Mike Fuller, currently Chief Constable of Kent Police, to the role of HM Crown Prosecution Service Chief Inspector. Mr Fuller will take up the post in April 2010. The Justice Select Committee held a pre-appointment hearing to consider Mr Fuller's suitability for the post and published their report yesterday, endorsing the appointment. The Attorney General announced that Mr Fuller was the preferred candidate for the role in December 2009.
Her Majesty's Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) is the independent Inspectorate for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the principal prosecuting authority for criminal cases in England and Wales. The purpose of HMCPSI is to enhance the quality of justice through independent inspection and assessment of prosecution services, and in so doing improve their effectiveness and efficiency. HMCPSI is the first independent quality assurance body for a prosecuting authority in the world.
Commenting on the appointment Baroness Scotland said:
"I am delighted to welcome Mike Fuller to the post of HM Crown Prosecution Service Chief Inspector. He will bring both clarity of vision and practical experience of the criminal justice system to the role. He has already indentified a number of areas he wants to work on, and recognises the tight fiscal parameters he'll have to operate in. I wish him every success.
"I would also like to pay tribute to the outgoing Chief Inspector, Stephen Wooler, and thank him for an outstanding contribution during his tenure. Mr Wooler has done a great deal to develop the sophistication of the Inspectorate's approach and increase the value it brings to the CPS, and leaves excellent foundations for Mr Fuller to build on."
Mike Fuller said:
"I am delighted to have been confirmed in the role of Chief Inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service and look forward to a new challenge that I hope to take up in April. However, I will be leaving Kent with a sense of sadness after six very enjoyable years and I would like to pay tribute to all the officers and staff of the Kent Force for their hard work and dedication."
Ends
For more information please contact Bernie Caffarey on 0207 271 2440 or email bernie.caffarey@attorney.general.gsi.gov.uk
Notes to editors
1. The current Chief Inspector, Stephen Wooler CB, is expected to complete his contract as Chief Inspector of Her Majesty's Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) on 31 March 2010.
2. Mike Fuller has been the Chief Constable of Kent Police since Jan 2004. He joined the Metropolitan Police Service as a cadet in 1975. As well as holding a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in Social Psychology, he has attained a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Brunel University and holds separate postgraduate diplomas in law, marketing and criminology. He was awarded Honorary Doctorates of Laws from both Sussex University and the University of East London.
3. Pre-appointment scrutiny hearings enable select committees to take evidence from candidates for certain key public appointments before they are appointed. Hearings are in public and involve the select committee publishing a report setting out their views on the candidate's suitability for the post. Pre-appointment hearings are non-binding but ministers will consider the committee's views before deciding whether to proceed with the appointment.
4. The Governance of Britain White Paper states that pre-appointment hearings should be held for posts that exercise statutory or other powers in relation to protecting the public's rights and interests - as well as for posts that play a role in the regulation and administration of the appointments process itself. The list of posts suitable for pre-appointment hearings is published in the government's Response to the Liaison Committee's First Special Report of Session 2007-08. (Liaison Committee, First Special Report of Session 2007-08, Pre-appointment hearings by select committees: Government Response, HC 594)