Civil Claims of Child Sexual Abuse Against Greville Janner Dropped

Lawyers for six men who made claims against late Labour peer say they will work with national child abuse inquiry instead

Greville Janner was facing a trial of facts on sexual offences dating back to the 1960s

at the time of his death in 2015. Photograph: Reuters

Haroon Siddique

Legal proceedings against Greville Janner have ended after six men dropped their civil claim of child sexual abuse against the late Labour peer.

The claimants’ lawyers, Slater and Gordon, said the case was likely to have been difficult to win because of the historical nature of the claims and they would instead focus on working with the national child abuse inquiry.

Janner’s son Daniel, a QC, previously threatened legal action to prevent the allegations against his father being included in the the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse. But Richard Scorer, specialist abuse lawyer at Slater and Gordon, said the firm had been given reassurance that they would be heard.

“With the civil cases, we knew that we would have a fight on our hands in achieving this because the civil action was launched so long after their alleged abuse,” he said.

“But we recognised how important it was for our clients to take this action after the failure of four separate criminal investigations."

“After a period of uncertainty regarding the inquiry, our clients have now received categorical assurances from Baroness Jay [the inquiry chair] that she will hear the allegations of abuse by the late Lord Janner as part of her wide-reaching inquiry, and that the actions of the various agencies involved will be scrutinised in detail."

“As a result, our clients will focus their efforts on working with the inquiry to discover the truth of what really happened rather than continue to fight the civil cases against Janner’s estate, which are at risk of being ruled out of time.”

Allegations against Janner first emerged publicly in 1991, but no action was taken. In 2015, the Crown Prosecution Service concluded that there was enough evidence to merit prosecution but it deemed such a prosecution not in the public interest because Janner was suffering from dementia. This decision was overturned on review and a trial of the facts, on 22 sexual offences dating back to the 1960s against nine boys and men, was scheduled for April 2016. However, this process was halted by Janner’s death in December 2015, aged 87.

Prosecutors initially suggested the trial could go ahead posthumously but subsequently said they would not pursue the case.

In a joint statement given to the Sunday Times by Janner’s three children, Daniel, 60, Laura, 53, and Marion, 57, they said: “We want to thank all those who stood by our family through this nightmare. The allegations against our late father were wholly unsubstantiated and an appalling injustice.

“Although our beloved father never lived to see the claimants abandon each and every one of their claims, we now have the peace of mind that our father’s reputation as a man who devoted his life to good has been restored.”

They said one of the reasons they had wanted the allegations against their father removed from the scope of the inquiry was that its terms would not allow for witnesses to be cross-examined by the family’s lawyers.

Powerful Labour MP in CSA Inquiry Accused of Using Drugs and Male Prostitutes

More Vaz Sex Sleaze and Government

Child Sex Abuse Cover Ups

by cathy fox blog

Keith Vaz MP has resigned from chairing the Home Affairs Select Committee, which oversees the IICSA child sexual abuse inquiry. This follows Vaz being caught paying male prostitutes for sex, being willing to buy cocaine and using poppers [1].

Many people felt that he was the wrong person to chair this committee, as he was widely seen as being at least a gatekeeper to prevent proper investigation into child sexual abuse.  He has not as yet resigned from being a member of that committee, but it can only be a matter of time.

It has also been known for over a year that Vaz was being investigated for child sexual abuse, yet he was allowed to be chair of a very influential committee into child sexual abuse. Why?

The Sun [9] reported in Jun 2015 that an anonymous MP

HAD lads “delivered” to his room at a hotel near a police station
ABUSED boys at a hospital’s mental health unit
LEFT one so terrified he fears for his life if he ever speaks out
SHOWED an “unhealthy” interest in the two young sons of a local councillor
DISPLAYED a liking for “young ragamuffins”, and
WAS seen as untouchable by police because of his revered position.

Mail [2] reported that Andrew Bridgen who had reported Vaz to the Police was receiving a campaign of vilification from Vaz.

It is of interest that Vaz, a fellow Leicestershire MP, was a staunch defender of Greville Janner MP, the child abuser, and perhaps owed his advancement to Janner [10]

It is also of interest that Vaz was a solicitor in Richmond at the time of Elm Guest House , Keith Vaz and the Mystery of Barnes Common [11] which he strangely cannot recall.

Odd, isn't it, that child sex abuse survivors often have suppressed memories emerge, while child sex abusers often have memories that are suddenly repressed. 

When Vaz was renominated for the post in Jun 2015 it was notable that although his opponent Fiona McTaggart talked child abuse, sexual violence and human child trafficking, Keith Vaz avoided this [5] but did manage to mention legal highs.

What influence did Vaz have over the agenda of the Home Affairs Select Committee? Did he instigate the inquiry into the woman who accused Leon Brittan of rape, whilst sidelining all the other accusations against Leon Brittan?

Vaz seems to have lived a charmed life. Bridgen also accused Vaz of performing political favours for the owner of a brothel in his constituency in which men consorted with underage males, and made further allegations about drink-driving, assault and corruption [2].

He has also been accused of conflict of interest over lobbying for immigration visas [6] and a suspicious £500,000 [4] [3].

How has he lived this charmed life?

MI5 must have known Vaz was a security risk. They are complicit or useless.
Was he another being protected by MI5 for blackmail purposes by those who are really in control of "Britains" unaccountable secret services. Who is really in control of them?
Why was Vaz allowed to chair a committee of such importance to the IICSA child sexual abuse inquiry, when he himself was being investigated for child sexual abuse?
What are the government guidelines for this sort of case?
Did the chairing of this committee whilst being investigated not contravene any standards for professional life or MPs?
What do Leicestershire Police and other forces know of the sex life of Keith Vaz and his links to child sexual abuse, and the cover up of Janners child sexual abuse?

There is much more on Cathy's blog 

Ex Irish MP, Patrick Sarsfield Donegan Unmasked as Child Sexual Abuser

by cathy fox blog

At the turn of the millenium in Eire, there was a case of child sexual abuse by a member of Parliament that had uncanny parallels nearly two decades later with the Greville Janner case in England.

Greville Janner

He has been identified in 2015 through detective work by Shame of Ireland. Their webpage is here [9] and twitter @ShameOfIreland [10].  They unmasked him by following clues in newspaper articles in which he was not named, but various details were described. This can be read on their post and comments here [2a].

Their work leaves no doubt that the child abuser was Patrick Sarsfield Donegan, but this is perhaps the first time he has been named. He was a TD, but is now dead. [A Teachta Dála (TD) is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the Irish Parliament, equivalent to an MP.]

The corporate media have not followed up this good detective work, reluctant  it seems to expose the crimes of the supposed democratic representatives of the people. This is one reason for the continuing demise of these papers. Maybe one newspaper will step forward, expose the ex TD for the sake of truth and the victims, and credit Shame of Ireland for their work. If not it is up to peoples social media to spread the truth. Please start blogging and / or spreading the truth. Each individual counts.

Patrick Sarsfield Donegan

Not charged until 40 years after offending
Committed many offences
TD (Irish MP)
Eventually Director of Public Prosecutions recommended prosecution
Evaded prosecution on grounds of ill health, some thought it was illness of convenience
Died not long afterwards
Never faced trial
All of the above are similar to Greville Janner in England.

Donegan was accused of 70 sex attacks on 5 schoolchildren dating back to the 1950's. One woman said the abuse started when she was just six-years-old and lasted for eight years. Her accusations were supported by four other women who all said the former politician abused them as young girls. The five women came forward to Gardai in 1997. At least some of the  attacks were meant to have happened in a school [6], and one child states that she told a nun of the attacks.

The Director of Public Prosecutions decided to go ahead with the prosecution

Donegan got High Court permission in 1998 to challenge proceedings, claiming it was unfair to continue the proceedings having regard to delay in making complaints, his age, the availability of witnesses and material evidence, the generalised nature of the allegations and previous adverse media publicity.

In March 2000 Donegan went to High Court seeking an order restraining the DPP from further proceeding with the criminal prosecution. However the proceedings were struck out, as there was no determination to be made as the trial could not proceed due to his age and deteriorating mental condition. The DPP formally withdrew its prosecution 2 months later.

This denied his victims justice in the justice system but does not stop the truth.

Hopefully others will come forward with their stories. It is unlikely this abuse stopped at 5 victims. Shame of Ireland webpage is here [9] and twitter @ShameOfIreland [10].

Timeline

1923 Oct 29 Patrick Sarsfield "Paddy" Donegan born

Educated at Christian Brothers school Drogheda, County Leith

c.1942 [3] Vincentian Castleknock College, County Dublin

1950's Donegan abused children probably girls, in school [6] probably with nuns, near borders 5 girsl and 70 offences. One girl claimed she was abused from ages 6 to 14

1954 Elected for first time as Fine Gael TD (Member of Parliament equivalent)

1973 Minister of Defence

1973 Ordered building of ship Asgelard II

1976 Minister for Lands

1981 Retired

1997 Garda investigation. 5 women reported abuse

1997 File sent to DPP

1998 Donegan received High Court permission to challenge proceedings, claiming it was unfair to continue the proceedings having regard to delay in making complaints, his age, the availability of witnesses and material evidence, the generalised nature of the allegations and previous adverse media publicity

2000 Mar 30 High Court Mr Justice Kelly. A former politician, who was seeking an order restraining the DPP from further proceeding with the criminal prosecution. The DPP is not to proceed with the prosecution of a former senior politician on 70 charges of indecent assault of five children following expert medical advice that the man is unfit to stand trial due to his age and illness

2000 Mar 31 Irish Times Former politician `not fit to stand trial' on child abuse charges

The DPP is not to proceed with the prosecution of a former senior politician on 70 charges of indecent assault of five children following expert medical advice that the man is unfit to stand trial due to his age and illness, the High Court was told yesterday.

Mr Justice Kelly struck out proceedings brought by the former politician, who was seeking an order restraining the DPP from further proceeding with the criminal prosecution, which was due to be heard in the Circuit Criminal Court.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was in national politics for more than two decades, ail and Seanad.

Five persons made allegations of indecent assault against him. The complainants are understood to be adults who claimed they were abused by the man when they were children. Some of the allegations date back more than 30 years and are alleged to have occurred in a school.

2000 May 23 Cavan Circuit Criminal Court The State withdrew the charges

2000 May 24 Irish Times Sexual assault charges withdrawn

2000 May 24 Mirror  Ex Politician Unfit for Trial; Child sex abuse case is dropped.  SEVENTY child sex charges were dropped because the State decided he was unfit to stand trial. The accused's barrister Paddy McAntee revealed the DPP had agreed to drop the case based on the individual's "deteriorating mental condition".  A victim said "I see this man out and about regularly, he is no more senile than I am.  "All I wanted was a chance to face him in court and tell him what he had done to me."

2000 Nov 26 Donegan Died

2015 Apr Donegan unmasked by Shame of Ireland

More information is available on Cathy's meticulously documented blog.

Four Child Sex Abuse Related Stories in Today's News from the UK

Men guilty of child sex abuse at boys’ school in Fife

John Farrell (top right) and Paul Kelly were found guilty/

Two men have been found guilty of historic abuse against former pupils at a boys’ school in Scotland.

John Farrell, 73, and Paul Kelly, 64, were charged with sexual and physical abuse of more than 20 ex-pupils of St Ninian's School in Falkland, Fife, between 1979 and 1983.

Farrell was found guilty of four charges and Kelly was convicted of seven in charges that involved six victims.

Their conviction follows one of the biggest abuse inquiries of its kind in Scotland.

The pair committed indecent acts on vulnerable boys in their care aged 11 to 15 and forced the children to perform sex acts on them and on each other.


The pair were tried on 51 charges in one of the biggest abuse inquiries of its kind in Scotland

'Screaming was pointless,' survivors tell ITV News of school abuse by Christian Brothers. They punished the children by forcing them to stand naked in a hallway, the High Court in Glasgow heard.

The men were remanded in custody after a jury found Farrell, from Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, guilty of three counts of indecent assault and a charge of assaulting a boy with a belt.

Kelly, from Plymouth, Devon, was convicted of four counts of indecent assault and three assault charges, including hitting a boy's head off sinks at the school.

Charges against three other men were earlier dropped.

St Ninian's was a Catholic school run by the Congregation of Christian Brothers, a religious order, until it closed in the 1980s. It housed around 45 boys in need of care.

£18mn investigation into historic child sex abuse case delayed again

Lord Greville Janner leaves Westminster Magistrates' Court in London, Britain © Toby Melville / Reuters

A public inquest into the alleged child abuse crimes of the late Lord Janner has cost taxpayers a massive £18 million so far, but as far as evidence is concerned not a single piece has been presented.

The Independent Inquiry Into Child Sex Abuse, led by Dame Justice Lowell Goddard, will conduct four days of preliminary hearings in the coming week, but the full investigation has now been postponed by at least another six months.

Survivors and their legal representatives have expressed concern that Dame Goddard and her team of 155 staff, including civil servants, solicitors and counsels, is feeling overwhelmed by the amount of testimonies and evidence that it has to process.

A promised annual report is also yet to be published, despite the inquiry expanding its offices to London, Liverpool, Darlington and Cardiff at the public’s expense. Dame Goddard’s budget has been reported as £17.9 million (US$23.5 million) a year.

The inquiry’s delay was explained as a necessity due to the work’s interference with investigations by the police and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

“It has been slow getting off the ground but I think that’s because they are determined to get things right,” the inquiry’s victims consultative panel member Pete Saunders told the Times.

Greville Janner died in December 2015, causing the Crown Prosecution Service to drop the case against him. The case was then referred to Dame Goddard’s independent inquiry.

He was originally charged with 22 historic sexual offenses, including sharing a hotel room with a 14-year-old boy, dating as far back as 1955. Most of the nine purported surviving victims were under the age of 16 when the crimes were committed.

Lord Janner dodged accusations of pedophilia from as early as 1991, when the director of a Leicestershire children’s home convicted for child sex abuse incriminated the politician in his testimony. Shortly before his death Lord Janner was considered unfit to stand trial due to “deteriorating and irreversible” dementia.

Controversial website that ran false claims of child sex abuse by string of VIPs is shut down

By STEPHEN WRIGHT FOR THE DAILY MAIL

The controversial ‘investigations’ website accused of peddling false allegations of VIP child sex abuse closed abruptly yesterday.

Exaro, which had close links to Labour deputy leader Tom Watson, has been shut following widespread criticism of its journalism standards and claims it destroyed the reputations of innocent people and profited from publishing bogus allegations.

The unregulated website came to prominence in 2014 after publishing claims by a suspected serial fantasist known as ‘Nick’.


Exaro, which had close links to Labour deputy leader Tom Watson (pictured), has been shut following widespread criticism of its journalism standards and claims it destroyed the reputations of innocent people

He alleged he witnessed three murders by a VIP paedophile gang that included former PM Edward Heath and former Home Secretary Leon Brittan.

Under pressure from Exaro, Scotland Yard wasted millions of pounds investigating. Its inquiry, Operation Midland, closed in March, admitting there was no evidence to support Nick’s allegations. 

News of Exaro’s demise was confirmed by Tim Pendry, a director of its parent company.

Last night there were calls for it to face an investigation into claims it was part of a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Exaro had faced an uncertain future since the collapse of Operation Midland, after the Daily Mail exposed the shambolic Met investigation.


The unregulated website came to prominence in 2014 after publishing claims by a suspected serial fantasist known as ‘Nick’. He alleged he witnessed three murders by a VIP paedophile gang that included former PM Edward Heath (pictured left) and former Home Secretary Leon Brittan (right)

Rotherham child sex abuse scandal used by Government to highlight need to protect youngsters

Alexis Jay produced a report on child sexual exploitation in Rotherham

CLAIRE LEWIS

Rotherham's child sexual exploitation scandal has been used to highlight the need for more to be done to protect children from abuse.

The Government is considering new proposals, which could see school staff jailed if they fail to raise the alarm about child abuse.

As well as teachers, doctors and social workers, those in administrative or support roles may fall under the scope of a new regime being considered by the Government.

The proposals would see those who work in roles that bring them into contact with children placed under a statutory duty to report or act on child abuse or neglect.

Sanctions for those who fail to comply could range from disciplinary to criminal action.

Two possible models are outlined in a consultation document published by the Home Office and Department for Education.

One is a mandatory reporting duty which would require certain practitioners or organisations to report known or suspected child abuse or neglect.

The other would introduce a 'duty to act' requiring staff or bodies to take appropriate action, which could include reporting.

There is currently no legal requirement on those working with children to report either known or suspected child abuse or neglect.

Education Minister Edward Timpson said: "We must do all we can to protect children and young people from abuse and neglect.

"That's why we're making radical improvements to make sure services identify children at risk as early as possible and take swift action to give them the protection and care they need, but events in Rotherham, Oxford and elsewhere show there is still more to be done.

"It's right, therefore, that we look at whether it's necessary to strengthen the law to better protect the most vulnerable. I know that social workers, teachers and other professionals are as passionate about protecting the young people they care for as I am - I would encourage them to share their views with us over the next 12 weeks."

A report in 2014 revealed that 1,400 children in Rotherham were abused by men of largely Pakistani heritage between 1997 and 2013 while authorities failed to act.

No Day in Court; No Closure for Victims of Greville Janner

Greville Janner child sex abuse case: alleged victims damn decision to drop proceedings

Independent report into investigations of peer due out in days as critics say his death should not have affected trial of facts

Greville Janner was charged with 22 sexual offences dating back to the 1960s.

Rajeev Syal, Jamie Grierson and Ben Quinn

Alleged victims of sexual abuse by Greville Janner have hit out at the decision to drop court proceedings against the late peer, saying it amounted to “an establishment cover-up from day one”.

The case against the former Labour MP, who was charged with 22 sexual offences dating back to the 1960s against nine boys and men, was set to be heard in a trial of the facts from which Lord Janner would be absent because of his dementia.

After his death last month, prosecutors suggested the trial could go ahead posthumously. But on Friday the prosecutor Richard Whittam QC told the trial judge, Mr Justice Openshaw, that the crown would not go ahead with the proceedings planned for the Old Bailey in April.

A long-awaited independent report into why it took decades to bring Lord Janner to court to face child sex abuse charges is due to be published this coming week, sources have told the Guardian.

The Crown Prosecution Service and Leicestershire police are expected to face severe criticisms from retired judge Richard Henriques for mishandling investigations into the late peer in 1991, 2002 and 2007.

And they will continue to face severe criticism for dropping this process. These people need to tell their story and Janner needs to be revealed for what he was. It's astonishing that the British judicial system is still protecting VIPs from the consequences of their monstrosities.

One solicitor who represents alleged Janner victims said the report could shed light upon claims that the police were pressured by politicians to drop their previous inquiries.

One alleged victim said on Friday that the decision to drop proceedings against the former MP would increase suspicion of “an establishment cover-up from day one” that stopped Janner from appearing before the courts.

The 54-year-old man, who has claimed he was abused repeatedly in a children’s home by Janner over several years, said: “I am really disappointed. He was already deemed unfit to stand trial and wasn’t going to be in court anyway, so his death shouldn’t have made a difference.

“The fact that he kicked the bucket should not have mattered. For once, they should have thought about the victims and let us go to court and let the court decide if we were telling the truth.”

The alleged victim’s case mirrors that of others who have said they were based in children’s homes in Leicestershire when Janner, the then MP for Leicester West, was introduced to them.

The man’s account and those of other alleged victims were first given to the police in 1991 and were raised again with detectives in 2005. After a further inquiry in 2014, Leicestershire police said there was enough evidence to pursue a legal case against Janner.

The alleged victim, a labourer, said the decision would leave many feeling abandoned by the justice system.

“I was going to go to court and tell them what happened,” he said. “I thought I was finally going to get some closure. Think what us, the victims, have been through. We were abused by a powerful man. When we plucked up courage to speak to the police, they didn’t believe us; decades later, we finally get near to a court and, somehow, he gets away with it and cheats the court because he dies.”

The BBC, which has interviewed dozens of men and women who lived in children’s homes in Leicestershire in the 70s and 80s, reported on Friday that 12 former residents had claimed they were abused by Janner.

The broadcaster spoke to council officials, social workers, police officers and journalists involved in investigating the case of Frank Beck, a notorious care home manager who was eventually convicted of child abuse.

The BBC reported that lawyers were now representing at least 20 men and one woman, including the 12 residents of children’s homes, who say the former MP abused them and that police had said they had information from 25 alleged victims.

Liz Dux, of Slater and Gordon, who represents a number of Janner’s alleged victims, said the claims against the former Labour MP were of the most “serious nature”.

“My clients are absolutely devastated that they won’t give their evidence in a criminal court,” she said. “They totally understand the reasons why, but that doesn’t make up for the real travesty – that many gave their statements decades ago and have been denied justice through a failure to prosecute earlier when Janner was alive and well, and that’s something they can’t get over.

“The next stage is the only opportunity for them to have their evidence heard, by the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse led by Judge Goddard. We’re hoping there will be an announcement by the Goddard inquiry shortly.

“I hope they prioritise the Lord Janner case and that they will hear my client in person and make findings of facts so there are judicial findings made and then made public.

“What is very disappointing is there was a painstaking inquiry by Leicestershire police since 2013 with a lot of other witnesses’ evidence, who weren’t victims but who were there to corroborate what victims were alleging. That evidence won’t be heard either.”

At the time of Janner’s death on 19 December, the prosecution had an application pending to introduce a second tranche of charges, which covered additional victims.

Janner was subject to three police investigations between 1991 and 2007. The CPS had, in those inquiries, decided there was insufficient evidence to charge Janner as a result of two of the investigations while the police did not submit a file to prosecutors on the third one.

In April last year, the director of public prosecutions, Alison Saunders, said the evidential test was passed, but that “mistakes in the decision-making” were made by Leicestershire police in 2002 and the CPS in 1991 and 2007.

The report by Henriques into the failures of previous inquiries last spring, which is expected to be released within days, will “go further” in its criticisms, sources say.

The report’s findings will be closely examined by lawyers representing at least 20 alleged victims of Janner who are already pursuing civil proceedings against the peer’s estate.

Some alleged victims have voiced suspicions that ministers and senior politicians from the Conservative party and Labour may have interfered in police inquiries.

Peter Garsden, head of QualitySolicitors Abney Garsden, said: “I hope the Henriques review will elaborate upon whether the police were put under pressure by the government not to prosecute Janner, something which has long been rumoured.

“The victims will await its publication with anticipation of it uncovering any cover-up which took place in the past. This has led to them being denied justice at a time when Janner was not lacking in capacity.”

Another legal source claimed that the report could also lead to civil cases against the police or the CPS.