Janner WILL face justice
LORD Janner will face justice after a dramatic decision to overturn the ruling not to prosecute him over historical sex offences.
A senior barrister who has spent weeks examining the evidence as part of an independent review has concluded there should be a hearing over the allegations.
Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders is now likely to come under immense pressure to consider her position. There was outrage in April when she announced Janner would not be charged despite there being enough evidence to prosecute him for 22 sex offences against nine people.
Last night Paul Miller, 52, who claims he was abused by Janner at the Palace of Westminster, said he was ‘stunned’ by the news, adding: ‘I was losing hope that this would ever happen.’
Never before has such a highprofile Crown Prosecution Service decision been overturned following a review. The decision – due to be made public next week – paves the way for evidence to be tested in a criminal court in a ‘trial of the facts’ even if the Labour peer is too ill to attend in person.
The review was launched under the CPS’s Victims’ Right to Review scheme after Mrs Saunders ruled the 86-year-old former MP, who has advanced dementia, should not be charged on health grounds. She also ruled out a trial of facts.
More than a dozen people have come forward to claim Janner abused them during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. His family has repeatedly denied he is connected to any wrongdoing.
AN independent QC is to overturn the controversial decision that Lord Janner should not face justice over a string of paedophile allegations.
The sensational U-turn by prosecutors means a court will now hear historical child sex claims against the disgraced former Labour MP.
A top barrister, who has spent several weeks examining the decision not to put Janner on trial, has concluded the allegations should be heard even though the peer has severe dementia.
The QC is said to have serious reservations about the original decision not to charge the 86-year-old and is to recommend to Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders that it be overturned. Barring a last minute change of mind, his ruling – due to be made public next week – paves the way for the evidence against Janner to be tested in a criminal court – in a procedure known as a ‘trial of the facts’ – even if he is too unwell to attend.
Never before has such a high-profile Crown Prosecution Service decision been overturned following a review.
The development will pile pressure on Mrs Saunders, who has suffered a torrid two months amid questions over her handling of the Janner affair. She is expected to face renewed calls from critics to consider her position.
The extraordinary twist in the case comes after a group of Janner’s alleged victims applied for a formal review of the decision not to charge him.
The appeal was launched after Mrs Saunders ruled the peer should not be charged on health grounds, despite saying there was enough evidence to prosecute him for 22 sex offences against nine people. She also ruled out holding a trial of facts, which can be used when suspects are unable to enter pleas or instruct lawyers.
Janner, who has advanced dementia, was accused of carrying out a catalogue of abuse against young boys.
More than a dozen people came forward to claim he abused them during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
His family has repeatedly denied he is connected to any wrongdoing.
Following Mrs Saunders’ decision to rule out a prosecution, a cross-party group of MPs said her ruling was damaging public confidence. Campaigners claimed there had been an Establishment cover-up – an allegation emphatically denied by Mrs Saunders, who said she prided herself on her independence.
Responding to criticism, the DPP insisted she had made the right decision not to prosecute Janner, adding that his dementia was so severe he could ‘play no part in a trial’.
Her supporters say that the independent review is evidence that the Crown Prosecution Service is ‘transparent and listens to victims’, although a U-turn in so prominent a case could call into question the judgment of the country’s most senior prosecutor.
Labour MP Simon Danczuk, who has campaigned on behalf of historic abuse victims, said: ‘It looks as though Janner’s case may now be examined in court. This is all the alleged victims have wanted. All we’ve ever asked for is the law to run its course. No one can be above the law.’
Last night Paul Miller, who claims he was groped by Janner at the Palace of Westminster on a school trip when he was nine, said: ‘I was losing hope that this would ever happen. It is great news and I will certainly get a lot of satisfaction. Janner should have been in the dock years ago.’ The 52-year-old added that the development raised the question of ‘what should happen to Alison Saunders now’.
Another alleged victim, Hamish Baillie, 47, said: ‘Yes, Janner will now have to face a court. But this doesn’t change the fact that for decades [his] abuse was ignored and covered up. The corruption is still there.’
It is unclear why the reviewing QC is overturning the decision. It is understood that as part of his inquiry, the barrister would have looked at previous cases involving frail, mentally ill defendants.
Due to Janner’s ailing mental capacity, police will not be able to charge him. It is thought more likely he will be summonsed to appear in court. It
is unclear whether he will be well enough to turn up and his lawyers are likely to argue the case should be thrown out, because he is too ill to give them instructions – let alone understand the charges.
Janner was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2009 and, it is said, requires round-the-clock care.
But since Mrs Saunders’ original decision, there have been a series of revelations about his health. Last week it was reported Janner made secret official visits to Parliament months after police were told he was too ill to be questioned.
Although the former Labour MP for Leicester West has not been interviewed by police, his home in Hampstead, north west London, was raided in December 2013, and his office in Westminster was searched in March 2014. The child sex allegations against Janner surfaced at the trial of paedophile care home boss Frank Beck in 1991. Police investigated the politician again in 2002 and 2007. There are now four separate reviews into the repeated failures to put him on trial.
Asked about the review last night, a CPS spokesman said: ‘No decision has been made yet. The review has not concluded. We don’t have any confirmed timings as yet on when it will be concluded.’
Mrs Saunders received a pay packet of almost £600,000 last year, The Daily Telegraph reported last night. It said the DPP was given an annual salary of £ 205,000 and £393,000 in pension contributions.