No further action to be taken after crash near Sandringham
The CPS says a prosecution after a crash involving Prince Philip isn't in the public interest
The Crown Prosecution Service has decided that no further action should be taken against a driver involved in a collision on the A149 at Sandringham.
Chris Long, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS East of England, said: “The CPS has carefully reviewed material submitted by the police in relation to a traffic collision on the A149 on 17 January this year.
“We took into account all of the circumstances in this case, including the level of culpability, the age of the driver and the surrender of the driving licence.
“We have decided that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute.
“All those involved in the collision have been informed and provided with a full explanation in writing.”
The decision was made after considering all the evidence submitted by the police and in accordance with the two stage test in the Code for Crown Prosecutors.
Any decision by the CPS does not imply any finding concerning guilt or criminal conduct; the CPS makes decisions only according to the test set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors and it is applied in all decisions on whether or not to prosecute.
It is not the function of the CPS to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges for the criminal court to consider. The CPS assessment of any case is not in any sense a finding of, or implication of, any guilt or criminal conduct. It is not a finding of fact, which can only be made by a court, but rather an assessment of what it might be possible to prove to a court, in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.
This assessment is based on the evidence available arising out of the police investigation and not on the evidence that is likely to be gathered by the defence, and likely to be used to test the prosecution evidence. The CPS charging decision is therefore necessarily an assessment on the basis of the evidence that is available to the CPS at the time the decision is made.
If the CPS finds that a case passes the evidential test, it then assesses public interest. This is based on a variety of factors, including the level of culpability, the harm done, the age of the suspect and whether a prosecution is a proportionate response in the circumstances. For a prosecution to take place, prosecutors must be satisfied that that the public interest is best served by a prosecution.
Published: by Radio NewsHub