A private school teacher has condemned the decision to award a damehood to a former Crown Prosecution Service chief who he blames for putting him through a two-year rape case ordeal.

The prosecution of Kato Harris for allegedly raping a pupil was branded ‘improper’ by the judge at his 2017 trial. Mr Harris was cleared by a jury in just 15 minutes.

Dame Alison Saunders, who was Director of Public Prosecutions at the time, has now been honoured for her ‘unstinting public service’. She was DPP from 2013 until her retirement last year.

Last night Mr Harris told The Mail on Sunday: ‘It’s no surprise that someone who presided over a pantomime should be made a dame.’

Former chief prosecutor Alison Saunders sparked a 'rewards for failure' row last night

His prosecution was one of a number of high-profile sex offence cases brought forward by the CPS that collapsed during Dame Alison’s tenure, with critics claiming that she had a politicised agenda. Mr Harris, head of geography at an £18,000-a-year London girls’ secondary school, was accused of raping a pupil on three separate occasions on school premises.

He endured two years on bail awaiting trial before he was acquitted. Mr Harris feels unable to return to teaching and now does ‘several minimum-wage jobs’ to support his family.

He said: ‘The best thing that Alison Saunders could do right now is subside into anonymity where she belongs.’

Teacher Kato Harris, who was falsely accused of raping a school pupil

As DPP, Dame Alison faced a barrage of criticism after a series of high-profile rape and sex-offence cases collapsed because of the failure by prosecutors to disclose evidence. According to a subsequent review, 47 such cases were halted because evidence was not shared with defence lawyers.

In one of the most high-profile examples, Liam Allan spent almost two years on bail before prosecutors handed over a series of text messages from his accuser that exonerated him.

Last night, Mr Allan, who now works in the publishing industry, said the honour suggested the CPS has failed to learn lessons.

In her honours citation, Dame Alison was described as having given 'unstinting public service' to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), where she worked for more than 30 years

He added: ‘During her time at the CPS, she [Dame Alison] caused a ridiculous amount of suffering because of her agenda of “conviction at all costs”.

‘Horrible, horrible things happened and hundreds of people suffered. The thing she will always be remembered for is putting innocent people in prison and I just don’t understand why we’re rewarding the people who messed everything up.’

Mark Pearson, a commuter cleared in 2016 of sexually assaulting an actress as he passed her at a busy railway station, called the honour ‘utterly staggering’.

He was accused of attacking the star, who cannot be named for legal reasons, at Waterloo Station in London, even though their paths crossed for less than half a second. At the time it was described by one commentator as the ‘most stupid case ever brought to court’.

Mr Pearson, an artist, asked: ‘What message does it send out when someone who presided over countless witch-hunts is given such a prize?’

When she retired last year with a taxpayer-funded pension worth an estimated £1.8 million, Dame Alison did not immediately receive an honour, raising speculation it had been blocked.

While DPP, she also faced criticism for pursuing Operation Elveden, a ‘witch-hunt’ against journalists that cost £20 million.

Responding to evidence disclosure accusations, Dame Alison told The Times: ‘Disclosure is an issue that has been in the criminal justice system for the past 20 years.

‘If you look at the record for the past six years all the indicators show that the CPS was performing as well, if not better, than when I took it over.’