The head of the Crown Prosecution Service has warned that cutting its budget would have a “catastrophic” impact on the backlog in the crown courts, as he revealed that almost 75,000 defendants were awaiting trial at the end of last month.
Max Hill, the director of public prosecutions (DPP) for England and Wales, told the House of Commons justice committee that the backlog was above the 70,200 recorded in August 2020, after court closures because of Covid.
