CPS faces racism test

The first test of the Crown Prosecution Service's commitment to banishing institutional racism from the organisation will come later this week when the Attorney-General names the members of the steering committee which will oversee implementation of the recent Denman report.The report found the service racist under the MacPherson definition, but fell short of unlawful racial discrimination.The National Black Crown Prosecution Service has asked to have a representative on the committee, but chairwoman Reeva Bell said she has 'not heard anything' yet.A spokesman from the Attorney-General's office said the relevant people had been contacted and an announcement was due this week.Ms Bell said: 'Our members are impatient and worried that they are not feeling any changes on ground floor level.

The steering group needs expertise in it to make sure the CPS is legally compliant.'The group is to be chaired by the Attorney-General, Lord Goldsmith, who said he was 'delighted that Sylvia Denman and Gurbux Singh [the chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality] have already agreed to join the group'.The CPS has 12 months to implement the report, including faster handling of complaints of racist behaviour, and a revised recruitment and promotion process.A CRE spokesman said that if it is not happy with the progress being made, it will reopen investigations into the Croydon CPS branch, where a separate CRE investigation found staff divided on racial lines.

'But if it is evident that the right steps are being taken, we will be happy,' he said.Andrew Towler