Prosecution service to be renamed by Blunkett

David Blunkett was accused of arrogance last night after he disclosed that the Crown Prosecution Service is to be stripped of its royal imprimatur.

The Home Secretary said he wanted the organisation, which brings criminal prosecutions in England and Wales, to be renamed the Public Prosecution Service. The move would make the service "much closer to being understandable by the public", he told a police conference in London. The proposal follows the rebranding of the Royal Ulster Constabulary as the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Mr Blunkett said: "Defence lawyers are always seen to be on the side of the defence and we have to get across that the public prosecutor is not neutral. They are on the side of the public." The Home Secretary said that the Queen's name was likely to remain on indictments, which now say that prosecutions are brought by the monarch.

Alan Duncan, the Tory constitutional affairs spokesman, said: "It is part of an agenda to remove the Crown from everything. Our courts, prosecution and prison service should remain distinct from the interference and arrogance of politicians."