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Baroness Scotland QC (right), Attorney General, talks to a student after her lecture on campus. Chair of the University's Council Simon Fanshawe (centre-left) and the new head of the CPS Inspectorate Michael Fuller (centre-right) also attended

The Attorney General, Baroness Scotland QC delivered the inaugural lecture of the University's 'Issues in Criminal Justice' series last week (3 February).

The speech, given at the Chowen lecture theatre in the Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), marked the merger of the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Baroness Scotland set out her views on developments in and challenges for the prosecuting authorities she superintends, and her aspirations for the future.

The talk was attended by the Chief Constable of Kent Police and alumnus Michael Fuller, who has just been appointed as the new head of the CPS Inspectorate.

Baroness Scotland QC said:

"This year brings the public prosecution service into a new decade and a new era. The recent merger of the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) shows that making savings and providing a better service are not incompatible.

"The role of the prosecutor has changed and evolved over time, and expectations of prosecution services have, rightly, never been higher. Crime is more complex than ever and crosses organisational and functional boundaries, and this merger will create an even stronger, more responsive, flexible and resilient public prosecution service for the future."

Professor Stephen Shute, convenor of the lecture series and Head of the School of Law, Politics and Sociology, said: "The aim of this major new series of lectures is to attract very distinguished speakers to the School of Law, Politics and Sociology to deliver lectures on issues of current interest concerning the UK's criminal justice system.

"I am delighted that Baroness Scotland accepted my invitation to deliver the inaugural lecture in this series, which have been made possible as a result of a generous bequest from the estate of Richard Headridge QC. I am hoping that this was the first of many thought provoking sessions exploring criminal justice issues."

Future speakers include Professor Jeremy Horder (on 20 April), whose topic will be criminal law and bureaucracy, and Michael Mansfield QC, who will give his recollections as a radical lawyer (29 April).

RSVP is essential for both lectures. Please email lawlectures@sussex.ac.uk