Dame Alison Margaret Saunders, DCB (née Brown; born 14 February 1961) is a British barrister and a former Director of Public Prosecutions.

[9] She took up the appointment of Chief Crown Prosecutor for Sussex in 2001 overseeing the case made against Roy Whiting, who was convicted of murdering Sarah Payne.

[10] On 23 July 2013, it was announced that she would become the new Director of Public Prosecutions in succession to Sir Keir Starmer, taking up the appointment on 1 November 2013.

[10][11] As the Director of Public Prosecutions, Saunders faced criticism and controversy around the handling of trials for rape and sexual assault.

Simon Danczuk, then MP for Rochdale, told the Guardian that "if the report is accurate, Saunders will now have to consider her position" as a result of the scrutiny that her initial decision would now be placed under.

This prompted a backlash from anti-assisted suicide groups who argued that this was a substantial change, which would allow for businesses similar to Dignitas to operate in the UK.

[24] In June 2015, Saunders was accused by journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer of a crusade to criminalise "drunken sexual encounters".

[25] In December 2017, journalist Allison Pearson of The Daily Telegraph called for Saunders to resign following the scandal of several high-profile rape cases falling apart or convictions being overturned due to police withholding key information regarding the innocence of the accused.

[26] Conversely, on 23 January 2018, Saunders was criticised by victims' and survivors' groups because her words could be taken to mean that silence equates to consent.

[27] In 2015 Saunders decided to prosecute a doctor for female genital mutilation after inserting a suture to prevent bleeding after childbirth.

[29] On 29 December 2018, The Telegraph reported that Saunders would be "the first former head of the Crown Prosecution Service not to receive a senior honour after her tenure was marked by a series of scandals".

Samuel Armstrong, a former Conservative MP's chief of staff who was acquitted of rape, said the settlement was a "damning indictment [that] should act as the final nail in the coffin for her hopes of a damehood ... Saunders' one-woman crusade to shift the scales of justice in sex cases not only ruined the lives of dozens of young men but of Paul Gambaccini as well.