Judges should make greater use of their power to clear the public from courtrooms in rape trials, the country’s top prosecutor has argued.
In an effort to encourage more alleged victims to come forward, Max Hill QC, the director of public prosecutions for England and Wales, said that more should be done to allow them to give evidence away from the glare of supporters of defendants.
Hill, who heads the Crown Prosecution Service, said that existing legislation allowed complainants giving evidence in rape and serious sexual offence cases were entitled to request the public, including any supporters of the defendant, be excluded from courtrooms.
“Sadly, we know many rape survivors either do not report an offence or withdraw from a prosecution because they find
