NIGEL EVANS, the MP and former deputy speaker, is right in asking that the Crown Prosecution Service pays all his defence costs after being found not guilty of nine serious accusations.

I would add that he should also be refunded damages for what he has endured.

His case and other high-profile cases adds to the perception of a witch-hunt. William Roach, Michael Le Vell and Dave Lee Travis are all celebrities who have undergone public humiliation on what seems to be questionable evidence.

I would also bring in anonymity for the accused until proven guilty for offences involving sex, and also give the judge a right to name the accuser on a not guilty verdict.

Alison Saunders, CPS director of prosecutions, seems to be over-zealous, perhaps because her department and the police got it so badly wrong over Jimmy Savile. Now we hear allegations of another cover-up at the highest level about Cyril Smith, the Lib-Dem MP.

Where is the justice in our system when individuals incur crippling legal costs to prove their innocence? There should be consequences for the state when they get it wrong – as in Nigel Evans’s case and any other.

The CPS has the right to prosecute, but it’s so easy when they sign a blank cheque with our money and ruin people’s lives.

Keith Massey, Mill Lane, York.