LONDON (Reuters) – The chief executive of Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) resigned on Friday, hours after settling an age and sex discrimination lawsuit against her former employer.
Rebecca Lawrence in 2019 became chief executive of the CPS, which prosecutes criminal cases that have been investigated by the police and other organisations in England and Wales.
She had filed an employment case against the CPS at a London tribunal in 2022 and the full hearing of her case was due to begin on Friday, court records show.
However, Lawrence’s claim was settled overnight, a member of tribunal staff said on Friday. No details of the settlement were provided by the CPS or the tribunal.
“This is a natural transition point for the CPS and it has been a privilege to lead this important organisation,” Lawrence said in a statement issued by the CPS.
Lawrence could not be directly contacted for comment. The CPS declined to comment on the settlement of Lawrence’s case.
The CPS said in a statement that Lawrence would continue to offer advice to the Director of Public Prosecutions and her successor “during the transition to the next phase for the organisation”.
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by William James)