Police consider challenge to CPS ruling not to charge Janner over abuse allegations
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Version 0 of 1. Police are considering an unprecedented legal challenge against the director of public prosecutions (DPP) over her failure to charge Lord Janner of Braunstone following allegations that he abused boys in children’s homes over nearly two decades. The proposed judicial review follows a statement on Thursday from the DPP, who said it was “not in the public interest” to put the QC and former MP on trial despite evidence from four police inquiries that he had been involved in the abuse of children. Alison Saunders, the DPP, cited the opinion of four separate doctors who have said he has Alzheimer’s disease and is incapable of considering evidence, instructing lawyers or entering a plea. The decision has resulted in a startling public rift between Leicestershire police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). In a further development, some of the 25 alleged victims of Janner are likely to launch claims against his estate. Alison Millar, a solicitor from Leigh Day specialising in abuse, said many alleged victims would feel they had no alternative now but to take legal action against the Labour peer. “The CPS acknowledgement of a series of missed opportunities to investigate the allegations against Lord Janner through the criminal justice process is truly disturbing and I should not be surprised in these circumstances if civil actions are contemplated,” she said. Related: Lord Janner: CPS fails to take chance to atone for failures of the past Any judicial review could plunge the CPS and the police’s strategy for investigating historical sex abuse claims into confusion. The investigation into Janner is one of dozens of inquiries into historical abuse allegations involving institutions or prominent people being conducted around the country, coordinated by Operation Hydrant. In her remarkably detailed statement, Saunders said that Janner would have been charged with 22 sex offences against children if he had been fit to stand. He would have been charged with 14 indecent assaults on a male under 16 between 1969 and 1988; two indecent assaults between 1984 and 1988; four counts of buggery of a male under 16 between 1972 and 1987; and two counts of buggery between 1977 and 1988. The statement claimed that both the CPS and Leicestershire police were to blame for the failure of previous inquiries. Following the decision, Leicestershire police issued a statement saying they were considering challenging the decision in the courts. Ast Ch Cons Roger Bannister, who has overseen the investigation, said the decision was “perverse” and would do little to support and encourage victims of sexual abuse to come forward. “There is credible evidence that this man carried out some of the most serious sexual crimes imaginable over three decades against children who were highly vulnerable and the majority of whom were in care. We are exploring what possible legal avenues there may be to challenge this decision and victims themselves have a right to review under a CPS procedure.” A police source confirmed that the most likely avenue open to the police would be a judicial review, which could take months to come to court. In another confrontational move, the force placed on its website a statement from one of the victims which described the CPS’s decision as a “disgrace” and “not in the public interest”. In its statement, the CPS said most of the alleged victims were residents in Leicestershire children’s homes in the 1970s and 1980s. It is claimed that Janner, while “in a position of authority and trust as the local MP for Leicester West”, befriended the manager of a children’s care home to allow him access to children. The peer was first accused of abuse offences in 1991 by a witness at the trial of Frank Beck, a serial abuser who ran children’s homes in Leicestershire. Janner’s only police interview took place that year at a police station in Leicester. He attended with his solicitor and gave “no comment” answers. The CPS decided at the time that there was no evidence to warrant charging him. He returned to the Commons to a rousing reception from all sides. He told parliament that the claims against him consisted of “disgraceful, contemptible and totally untrue allegations”. But despite his name being temporarily cleared – and his being given a peerage in 1997 – further allegations were investigated by Leicestershire police in 2002. The information was not, however, passed to prosecutors to consider. Four years later, another alleged victim came forward with claims against three individuals, including Janner, but again prosecutors decided there was insufficient evidence to prosecute. The CPS admitted it made mistakes and that Janner should have been prosecuted earlier. “In relation to the other three previous investigations, the CPS also now considers that the evidential test was passed. It follows that mistakes were made in the decisionmaking at the time by both the Leicestershire police in 2002 and the CPS in 1991 and 2007. Lord Janner should have been prosecuted.” CPS lawyers spent nine months studying evidence gathered by Leicestershire police’s Operation Enamel. Detectives approached more than 2,000 potential witnesses and interviewed more than 25 men who claim they were abused by Greville Janner in their youth. The Labour party suspended Janner following the CPS announcement. The Labour MP Simon Danczuk, who first named the Liberal MP Cyril Smith as a paedophile in parliament, disagreed with the CPS’ conclusion and said Janner should be stripped of his peerage. “This terrible decision is bringing the whole justice system into disrepute and will be devastating news to the alleged victims. It sends out an appalling message and suggests we haven’t learned anything from the mistakes of the past.” Saunders’ decision has angered campaigners, who believe a trial would be in the public interest. Lucy Duckworth of the Survivors’ Alliance said: “What really struck me in the DPP’s statement was there was no mention of support for the alleged victims. There was no acknowledgment of what they have been through in coming forward, of offering them support in the future or of criminal injuries compensation. This suggests the culture has not changed, to omit this from the statement is quite staggering.” The CPS said it has asked retired high court judge Sir Richard Henriques to conduct an independent review into its decisionmaking and handling of all past matters relating to the case. Mick Creedon, now chief constable of Derbyshire police but then an investigating officer, told the Times last year there was credible evidence against Janner and that he and colleagues wanted to make an arrest but were prevented from doing so by “more senior people”. In statement issued through lawyers, Janner’s family said he is entirely innocent of any wrongdoing. “As the Crown Prosecution Service indicated today, this decision does not mean or imply that any of the allegations that have been made are established or that Lord Janner is guilty of any offence,” it read. Janner, 86, the former MP for Leicester West, has not been interviewed in the current inquiry because of poor health but police obtained warrants to search his home in Golders Green, north London, and his office in the House of Lords. He will remain a member of the upper chamber until his death or until he formally retires under reforms passed last year. Alleged victims Detectives visited the homes of Lord Janner’s alleged victims this week to break the news that, despite their testimony and the strong case police felt that they had built, the peer would not face trial. After decades in which those who made complaints of sexual assault by Janner when they were young, vulnerable boys in the care of the state, the news was devastating. A total of 25 individuals have made allegations of serious sexual assault by Janner between 1969 and 1988, when they were in children’s homes. Some of those who spoke to police alleged extreme sadistic behaviour, involving the use of blindfolds and restraints. While many are too upset to speak publicly, they have all indicated that they want their stories to be made public at some point now that they will never have their day in court. One alleged victim, however, insisted to police that he wanted his reaction to the DPP’s announcement to be released. Now middle aged, the man said the DPP’s decision was “a disgrace”. He said: “This animal is still being protected because [of his health] and isn’t able to stand trial. They say that it’s not in the public interest, but isn’t it in the public interest to know what his victims have gone through at the hands of this man? “If he was an everyday person with a normal life and job, justice would have been served, but as it stands, we victims are just being punished to the ground again and walked over. “Let someone feel the pain and suffering that I’ve endured and still going to endure for the rest of my life. It’s not a case of being found guilty or going to prison – it’s about being believed after so long being told we were lying. Justice needs to be served.” |