Labour peer dodges mass child abuse charges ‘due to dementia’
FURY has erupted after prosecutors said they would not charge a Labour peer with allegations of historic child sex abuse, despite credible evidence that would support 22 charges.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has admitted failing the alleged victims of Lord Greville Janner, 86, after a review of investigations found he should have been charged when suspicions were first raised.
The Lord, who was a Labour MP in Leicestershire for 27, is alleged to have abused nine boys between 1969 and 1988. More than a dozen came forward with claims. The majority were in Leicestershire care homes, where, as an MP for Leicester West, Lord Janner befriended the manager of a children’s care home to get access to vulnerable youngsters.
The Lord, who was a Labour MP in Leicestershire for 27 years, is alleged to have abused nine boys between 1969 and 1988.
But the CPS said in a statement today that Janner should not be prosecuted “because of the severity of his dementia which means he is not fit to take part in any proceedings, there is no treatment for his condition, and there is no current or future risk of offending.”
Leicestershire Police, who carried out investigations under Operation Enamel, spoke to more than 2,000 individuals, took 442 statements and pursued more than 2,700 lines of enquiry. They seized or created nearly 600 exhibits including cine film and videos.
Furious Assistant Chief Constable Roger Bannister of Leicestershire Police, who has overseen the investigation, said he believed the decision was “the wrong one” and it would do little to support and encourage victims of sexual abuse to come forward in future.
He said: “Thanks primarily to the courage of 25 victims who have made a complaint and the complete professionalism of the investigation team, we have built a case that the Director of Public Prosecutions has acknowledged is the result of a thorough investigation, evidentially sufficient and gives rise to a realistic chance of conviction.
Victims of the alleged offences have been denied the opportunity of criminal proceedings
“I am extremely worried about the impact the decision and more widely I am worried about the message this decision sends out to others, both past and present, who have suffered and are suffering sexual abuse.
“Victims themselves have a right to review under a CPS procedure.”
CPS said if it was in the public interest to charge Lord Janner he would be facing a trial over:
- 14 indecent assaults on a male under 16 between 1969 and 1988
- 2 indecent assaults between 1984 and 1988
- 4 counts of buggery of a male under 16 between 1972 and 1987
- 2 counts of buggery between 1977 and 1988.
The CPS said mistakes were made by Leicestershire Police in 2002 and CPS in 1991 and 2007.
A spokesperson for the CPS said: “It is a matter of deep regret that the decisions in relation to the previous investigations were as they were. Had the previous decisions been to prosecute, as they should have been, Lord Janner would have had the opportunity to challenge the evidence and defend himself through the trial process, with a jury ultimately deciding on his guilt or innocence some years ago.
“Victims of the alleged offences have been denied the opportunity of criminal proceedings in relation to the offences of which they have complained.
“It is of obvious and particular concern that such proceedings did not take place as a result of what the CPS now consider to be wrong decisions.
A thorough and independent review into the CPS decision will be carried out by retired High Court Judge Sir Richard Henriques.
He will look into the CPS decision-making and handling of all past matters relating to the case and could make recommendations he considers appropriate.
A spokesperson for the NSPCC said: “Something went badly wrong in the way these allegations against Lord Janner were handled and victims will be understandably angry and upset that, because of mistakes made by the CPS, a jury will not have the final say.
“We need to be reassured this will never happen again. Victims deserve an opportunity to seek justice no matter how powerful or influential the accused or much time has passed. It’s now vital that victims’ voices are heard in the Independent Inquiry into child sexual abuse. We hope this decision will not deter others from coming forward.”
