I was a Tory minister and I’m embarrassed by the party’s smear campaign on Starmer

In a general election, it is right that the leadership qualities of prospective prime ministers are thoroughly examined and assessed. Voters deserve nothing less.

But as a former Conservative attorney general with ultimate responsibility for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) from 2010 to 2014, I am astonished to see some of my former colleagues seeking to suggest that as director of public prosecutions (DPP), Keir Starmer was a “lefty lawyer” who failed in the role.

This flies in the face of the facts. As DPP, Starmer had to implement the savings which the Cameron government brought in because of the financial crisis. He succeeded in doing this by amalgamating offices and cutting nearly a quarter of the staff, all while maintaining an effective service.

I also realised, as I visited offices affected by the changes, that he had led from the front and was held in high regard by staff from whom he was asking for challenging changes in working practices.

His success as a leader of this important government department was well known in Whitehall. When, after his departure, the CPS was to be made the subject of further budget cuts, I was able to get them halved because the Treasury acknowledged how well the CPS had performed and delivered previously.

He chose to leave the role in 2013, but I never heard any suggestion from anyone within government that he should not be reappointed had he wished to continue. As DPP, he attended the weekly meeting of permanent secretaries. Had any of them had concerns about his performance, I would have known about it.

At no stage did Starmer’s priorities as DPP suggest he was pursuing some “lefty lawyer” agenda. When he informed me about controversial individual decisions taken personally, I never had cause to disagree with his reasoning.

The CPS, like any human service, is never going to be perfect and the DPP takes and is aware personally of only a tiny fraction of prosecutorial decisions. The suggestion that he had a personal role in not prosecuting Jimmy Savile was simply untrue.

But when things did go wrong with the CPS, I found him wanting to take responsibility and find solutions for the future. He initiated reviews of CPS practices when problems were identified which led to lasting improvements in how the work was done.

I was particularly impressed by the manner in which he mobilised the CPS to work with the courts after the 2011 riots, sometimes through the night, to ensure that speedy justice was delivered on those who had committed offences. He correctly assessed that stopping criminality of this kind required clear evidence of rapid consequences for the perpetrators and the approach worked.

On policy matters, he was pragmatic in trying to focus on problems. In June 2013, he introduced the victims’ right to review, allowing any victim of crime, including bereaved family members, to ask the CPS to look again at a case following a decision not to charge. He prioritised the interests of the people he was there to serve ahead of the institution’s image.

The reality is that Starmer worked hard as DPP to uphold the rule of law and make our country safer. He put special focus on improving conviction rates in cases of sexual assault and on smashing criminal gangs. The report on human trafficking published by the Home Office in late 2012 acknowledged the role of the CPS in this.

I am not surprised to learn that Theresa May, the then home secretary, took him out for dinner to thank him for his services when he left. As a public servant, he had served the government of the day with both dedication and professionalism.

Being DPP and becoming prime minister are, of course, not one and the same. This election should offer an opportunity for detailed debate about the many challenges our country faces, and which party might be best placed to tackle them. But we do our democracy no favours by slinging mud at our opponents, whoever they are.

For Conservatives to try to attack Starmer’s record as DPP is ridiculous, and reflects badly on those who do it.

Dominic Grieve is a former Conservative attorney general