A Labour peer’s office in the House of Lords has been raided as part of a probe into historic child sex abuse allegations, writes Ben Endley in the Sunday People.
Up to eight officers from Leicestershire Police searched Greville Janner’s space and are understood to have removed computer equipment.
The force refused to confirm whether anything was seized but said the March raid was part of an ongoing enquiry.
Lord Janner, 85, has not been arrested in connection with the allegations but Leicestershire Police submitted a dossier of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service in April.
The former QC was named Baron Janner of Braunstone, Leicester, in 1997 after serving as an MP for 27 years, at Leicester North West then Leicester West.
It is thought the raid was part of an investigation concerning allegations linked to Frank Beck, who was found guilty of abusing more than 100 children in the 1970s and 1980s.
The pervert, who ran children’s homes in Leicestershire, was given five life sentences and died in jail.
A police spokesman said: “Leicestershire Police can confirm that in March its officers carried out a search of part of the House of Lords in connection with an ongoing enquiry into non-recent child sexual abuse.
“A search warrant was obtained in advance from a Crown Court Judge and the search was conducted in accordance with established House of Lords procedures and monitored by senior officials from the House of Lords.
"No arrests or charges have been made and enquiries continue.”
In December, Leicestershire officers searched Lord Janner’s home in Barnet, North London. His legal team has confirmed he is helping with inquiries.
Two men from Corby, Northamptonshire, aged 69 and 63 have also been quizzed in connection with the allegations but have not been arrested.
In Beck’s 1991 trial, a 30-year-old man claimed he had been abused by Lord Janner, who was still an MP at the time, while he was in care aged 13.
Lord Janner was not prosecuted and received cross-party support in the Commons when he said there was “not a shred of truth” in the claims.
Police rarely enter the House because of the tradition of parliamentary privilege.
The Commons office of former Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans was raided last year by police investigating allegations of rape and sexual assault. He was later acquitted.
In 2008 the Metropolitan Police searched the office of Tory immigration spokesman Damian Green over allegations he had leaked information from the Home Office.
Green denied the offences and in 2009 the CPS said it would not be bringing charges against him.
The issue of historic child sex abusers evading justice rocked the political sphere when revelations concerning Lib Dem grandee Cyril Smith emerged.
The late MP, who represented Rochdale, was a regular visitor to Elm Guest House in Barnes, South West London, which is now at the centre of a police investigation into child sex abuse in the 1970s and 1980s.
Lord Janner is a prominent campaigner for Jewish rights and was President of the Board of British Jews. He has been hailed for his efforts to see that Holocaust victims receive compensation.
The father-of-three married Australian-born Myra Sheink in 1955. She passed away in 1996.
Lord Janner was unavailable for comment yesterday.
Calls are growing for a national inquiry into historic child sex abuse and authority cover-ups – with 90 MPs now demanding a probe.
Labour’s Tom Watson and Tory Zac Goldsmith lead a cross-party group asking Home Secretary Theresa May to form an independent panel to look into claims and find out why key documents vanished.
The demand comes after BBC star Jimmy Savile was exposed only after his death and follows shocking revelations about late Lib Dem MP Cyril Smith.
A report into abuse at Knowl View School in Rochdale, where Smith was a governor, was suppressed.
Mr Watson said: “The fact we have a cross-party coalition asking for a national investigation makes it hard to ignore.”
Mr Goldsmith added: “If it wants to draw a line, the Government must establish a defining, properly resourced inquiry.”
Up to eight officers from Leicestershire Police searched Greville Janner’s space and are understood to have removed computer equipment.
The force refused to confirm whether anything was seized but said the March raid was part of an ongoing enquiry.
Lord Janner, 85, has not been arrested in connection with the allegations but Leicestershire Police submitted a dossier of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service in April.
It is thought the raid was part of an investigation concerning allegations linked to Frank Beck, who was found guilty of abusing more than 100 children in the 1970s and 1980s.
The pervert, who ran children’s homes in Leicestershire, was given five life sentences and died in jail.
A police spokesman said: “Leicestershire Police can confirm that in March its officers carried out a search of part of the House of Lords in connection with an ongoing enquiry into non-recent child sexual abuse.
“A search warrant was obtained in advance from a Crown Court Judge and the search was conducted in accordance with established House of Lords procedures and monitored by senior officials from the House of Lords.
"No arrests or charges have been made and enquiries continue.”
In December, Leicestershire officers searched Lord Janner’s home in Barnet, North London. His legal team has confirmed he is helping with inquiries.
Two men from Corby, Northamptonshire, aged 69 and 63 have also been quizzed in connection with the allegations but have not been arrested.
In Beck’s 1991 trial, a 30-year-old man claimed he had been abused by Lord Janner, who was still an MP at the time, while he was in care aged 13.
Lord Janner was not prosecuted and received cross-party support in the Commons when he said there was “not a shred of truth” in the claims.
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| British House of Lords |
The Commons office of former Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans was raided last year by police investigating allegations of rape and sexual assault. He was later acquitted.
In 2008 the Metropolitan Police searched the office of Tory immigration spokesman Damian Green over allegations he had leaked information from the Home Office.
Green denied the offences and in 2009 the CPS said it would not be bringing charges against him.
The issue of historic child sex abusers evading justice rocked the political sphere when revelations concerning Lib Dem grandee Cyril Smith emerged.
The late MP, who represented Rochdale, was a regular visitor to Elm Guest House in Barnes, South West London, which is now at the centre of a police investigation into child sex abuse in the 1970s and 1980s.
Lord Janner is a prominent campaigner for Jewish rights and was President of the Board of British Jews. He has been hailed for his efforts to see that Holocaust victims receive compensation.
The father-of-three married Australian-born Myra Sheink in 1955. She passed away in 1996.
Lord Janner was unavailable for comment yesterday.
Calls are growing for a national inquiry into historic child sex abuse and authority cover-ups – with 90 MPs now demanding a probe.
Labour’s Tom Watson and Tory Zac Goldsmith lead a cross-party group asking Home Secretary Theresa May to form an independent panel to look into claims and find out why key documents vanished.
The demand comes after BBC star Jimmy Savile was exposed only after his death and follows shocking revelations about late Lib Dem MP Cyril Smith.
A report into abuse at Knowl View School in Rochdale, where Smith was a governor, was suppressed.
Mr Watson said: “The fact we have a cross-party coalition asking for a national investigation makes it hard to ignore.”
Mr Goldsmith added: “If it wants to draw a line, the Government must establish a defining, properly resourced inquiry.”
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