South London Chief Prosecutor apologises for falling short on anti-Jewish hate crime

The Chief Crown Prosecutor for London has apologised to the Board of Deputies for a number of incidents in which the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) fell short in prosecuting antisemitic hate crimes.

Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl, Chief Executive Michael Wegier and Public Affairs Director Daniel Sugarman met Lionel Idan, Chief Crown Prosecutor for London South, last week. They discussed a number of cases where the Jewish community viewed that the CPS had failed to prosecute antisemitic hate crime, the latest of which was a religiously aggravated assault against a man alleged to have carried out a string of assaults against Jewish people in August 2021. Following complaints, the charges were later reinstated.

After the meeting, Marie said: “Mr Idan wholeheartedly apologised for the incidents in question, and also responded favourably to the idea of participating in an event with the Board, open to the wider Jewish community, that included opportunities for Questions and Answers”.

She added that the CPS would facilitate introductions for the Board of Deputies so that we can organise meetings between local CPS hate crime leads and local Jewish representatives around the country.