Preferred candidate for HMCPSI Chief Inspector announced
Anthony Rogers has been named as the preferred candidate to be the next Chief Inspector of His Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI).
The Attorney General Lord Hermer KC has today announced that Anthony Rogers is the government’s preferred candidate for the role of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of HMCPSI.
Anthony Rogers has been selected following a fair and open assessment process conducted in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
As part of the next stage in the recruitment process, Anthony Rogers will appear before the Justice Select Committee on 28 January 2025 for a pre-appointment hearing.
Role of Chief Inspector of HMCPSI
His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of HMCPSI is appointed by the Attorney General. This is a public appointment for a fixed term and the Chief Inspector acts independently of the Attorney General and of government.
HMCPSI has a statutory duty to inspect the Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Fraud Office and report to the Law Officers, who superintends both those organisations. HMCPSI’s reports play an important role in effective superintendence of CPS and SFO, as well as improving the performance of the organisations HMCPSI inspects, strengthening the criminal justice system, and increasing public trust. HMCPSI is also able to inspect other organisations if invited to do so.
The operational relationship between the Attorney General and the Chief Inspector is set out in a protocol agreed between the Law Officers and the Chief Inspector.
Anthony Rogers Biography
Since February 2024, Anthony Rogers has been Interim HM Chief Inspector of HMCPSI, following the departure of the previous Chief Inspector. He was Deputy Chief Inspector of HMCPSI between April 2018 and February 2024, during which period he was seconded for six months to the Independent Review of the SFO’s handling of the Unaoil Case, giving evidence to the Justice Select Committee.
While interim Chief Inspector, Anthony has overseen the publication of four inspection reports, including the review into CPS’s actions in the Valdo Calocane case and an inspection by invitation of the Services Prosecuting Authority.
October 2025 will see HMCPSI mark its 25th anniversary and Anthony has set an ambitious programme of inspections for 2025, including follow-up inspections of the CPS Areas, an inspection on handling of rape cases in the CPS, and an inspection by invitation of the Health and Safety Executive.
Anthony Rogers has extensive Civil Service experience going back to 1989. He has worked in a number of different government departments and between 2013 and 2016 worked for the Crown Prosecution Service including as an Area Business Manager, jointly responsible for the senior leadership of the Crown Prosecution Service London and Head of Profession for operational delivery; and Head of Compliance, Assurance and Support, responsible for the development, design and implementation of a new Crown Prosecution Service national strategy.
He has extensive experience outside the Civil Service as a management consultant and non-executive director. Anthony Rogers was previously a non-executive director of the Yorkshire Sport Foundation and former chair of trustees of SportsAid Yorkshire and Humberside.