Lord Janner: Judge Rules Dementia Sufferer is Unfit to Plead in Child Sex Abuse Trial

Court hearing on 87-year-old peer's mental health is told former Labour grandee is suffering from 'advanced and disabling' dementia

Lord Janner pictured after a previous court appearance Photo: Reuters

David Barrett, Home Affairs Correspondent, The Telegraph

Lord Janner has been declared unfit to plead in a criminal trial over a range of sex abuse charges dating back 50 years, a senior judge has ruled.

In a hearing at the Old Bailey on the 87-year-old's mental health, Mr Justice Openshaw said the peer was suffering from "advanced and disabling" dementia.

He detailed reports from four leading psychiatrists and psychologists which had been commissioned by both prosecution and defence - all of which agreed the peer's mental health was very poor. Janner did not attend the latest court hearing.

"Medical opinion is... all one way," said the judge. "The inevitable and irresistible conclusion is the defendant has advanced and disabling dementia which is deteriorating and irreversible and, accordingly, I find that he is unfit to plead."

At a the last hearing in October, both prosecution and defence barristers made it clear there was no dispute between them that Janner was not well enough to stand trial.

But the judge told them that the matter should be decided following a "short opening" in court as the public was "entitled to know" why.

Janner is accused of 22 sex abuse charges and there is due to be a rare "trial of the facts" heard in the new year.

Lord Janner and his daughter arrive at Westminster Magistrates' Court for an earlier hearing

One of the doctors who examined Janner on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service was Professor Michael Kopelman, an expert in memory loss and a professor of neuropsychiatry at King's College London.

He examined Janner four times between February last year and September this year.

Summarising the most recent report by Prof Kopelman, the judge said of Janner: "He can now hardly speak and when he does it is to make inappropriate, repetitive statements.

"He scarcely recognised his own family and he has entirely lost his short term memory.

"He is unable to give any account of his professional and Parliamentary history."

Earlier this year, a review of the case led the Crown Prosecution Service to overturn its decision not pursue charges against Janner due to his ill-health.

Janner is accused of 15 counts of indecent assault and seven counts of a separate sexual offence against a total of nine alleged victims in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

Twenty-one of the offences relate to complainants who were aged 16 or under at the time.

"The inevitable and irresistible conclusion is the defendant has advanced and disabling dementia which is deteriorating and irreversible"

Mr Justice Openshaw

Mr Justice Openshaw chose not to refer to the defendant by his noble title, instead calling him "Greville Janner" and noting that he had been "indicted as Lord Janner".

He added that it was important to balance openness over the decision not to proceed with a criminal trial with "protecting the defendant's privacy".

The judge acknowledged there had been what he described as "unjustifiable scepticism" among some members of the public regarding the legal process surrounding Janner.

The judge added that the peer had been examined by "eminent" doctors.

"Each is of the opinion that the defendant is suffering from such severe disability, namely dementia ... that he is unfit to be plead or to be tried," the judge said.

Prof Kopelman's report from March this year said: "Lord Janner would be unable to understand the charges against him, to comprehend that a juror could be challenged, to instruct his lawyers, to comprehend the details of evidence, or to follow and recall the court proceedings."

Another expert who examined Janner on behalf of the prosecution, Dr Kate Humphreys from St Thomas' Hospital - which sits on the River Thames opposite the Palace of Westminster - said it had been impossible to carry out the full range of cognitive tests because his condition was so poor.

His mental health problems are a combination of Alzheimer's and vascular dementia, she concluded.

Greville Janner in more coherent days Photo: Rex

Another psychiatrist, Dr James Warner, examined Janner for the defence.

Based on this report the judge said: "During cognitive testing he appeared somewhat perplexed and mildly irritable; his speech was abnormal, with periodic slurring of words, some being incomprehensible.

"He exhibited a condition known as ‘logoclonia’, being the repetition of simple words; he then had only a limited vocabulary.

"Most of his answers were inappropriate to the questions asked; indeed, he gave virtually no coherent answers to the questions asked.

"He was often bewildered by simple requests, even when made in simple language and given repeatedly.

"The defence cognitive testing he appeared somewhat perplexed and mildly irritable; his speech was abnormal, with periodic slurring of words, some being incomprehensible.

"He exhibited a condition known as ‘logoclonia’, being the repetition of simple words; he then had only a limited vocabulary. Most of his answers were inappropriate to the questions asked; indeed, he gave virtually no coherent answers to the questions asked. He was often bewildered by simple requests, even when made in simple language and given repeatedly."

Janner and daughter arrive at a previous court appearance

Greville Janner: a timeline
Allegations of child sex abuse are first made against Lord Janner in 1991 during the trial of convicted paedophile Frank Beck, but have persistently dogged the Labour Peer since then

June 1970
Janner wins Leicester North West
Greville Janner, a qualified barrister, successfully wins the seat of Leicester North West for Labour and enters the House of Commons aged 41.

1991
Police investigate Janner
Leicestershire Police investigates allegations that Janner was responsible for abuse at children's homes in Leicester. Janner is investigated alongside Frank Beck - a former Royal Marine turned social worker who was in charge of several children’s homes in Leicestershire from 1973 - 1986. Janner is questioned by appointment.

August 1991
Frank Beck goes on trial
Frank Beck goes on trial charged with abusing more than 100 children in his care. During the case he claims he had intervened to prevent Janner from abusing and buggering a child at one of the homes.

November 1991
Evidence against Janner
A former children’s home resident gives evidence at the trial in which he claims Janner regularly abused him.

November 1991
Beck sentenced to five life terms

Frank Beck (Picture: Richard Watt)

Frank Beck is convicted of a string of child abuse and rape charges and is sentenced to five life terms.

December 1991
Janner denies allegations in House of Commons speech

Janner uses a speech in the House of Commons to vehemently deny the allegations made against him and is supported by a number of colleagues from all sides of the House some of whom call for a change in the law to protect the reputation of those accused of such crimes.

December 1991
No further action against Janner
The Crown Prosecution Service announces no further action is to be taken against Janner over the allegations.

May 1997
Janner becomes a baron
Steps down as an MP and is ennobled as a Life Peer taking the title Baron Janner of Braunstone.

2002
Victim claims abuse by Janner
An alleged victim gives evidence to Leicester Police claiming he was abused by Janner. The evidence is never passed to the CPS for consideration.

2006
Another victim comes forward
Another alleged victim comes forward claiming to have been abused by three people, one of whom was Janner. The evidence is passed to the CPS for consideration.

2007
CPS decides there is insufficient evidence to prosecute

January 2013
Operation Enamel is launched
Operation Enamel is established by Leicestershire Police and more than a dozen allegations are made against Janner.

December 2013
Police search Janner’s home as part of the investigation

March 2014
Police search Janner’s Westminster offices

April 2015
Enough evidence, no prosecution
CPS announce it is not in the public interest to prosecute Janner despite there being enough evidence to proceed. DPP Alison Saunders announces his severe dementia means he would not be fit to stand trial.

May 2015
External QC is appointed to review the decision

June 2015
U-turn on Janner - he will be prosecuted
Alison Saunders announces she is reversing the decision not to prosecute the former Labour peer for child sexual offences, following a review carried out by an independent legal expert.

June 2015
Alison Saunders faces calls to resign
Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders faces calls to resign after she was forced into a U-turn over her decision.

August 2015
Janner 'fit to attend court'
Lord Greville Janner after appearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London (Picture: Reuters)
Chief magistrate Howard Riddle rules that Lord Janner is fit to attend court to answer charges of historic sex abuse. Lawyers for Lord Janner later lose a High Court bid to prevent him from having to do so.

December 2015
Janner 'unfit' to plead in trial
A senior judge rules Lord Janner is unfit to plead in a criminal trial over a range of sex abuse charges. Mr Justice Openshaw made the ruling after hearing details about Lord Janner's dementia.

Retired Detective Breaks Silence on Janner Investigations

Senior detective breaks silence about former case against Janner

Janner - inspecting the chickens? 1972

A senior detective who investigated child abuse allegations against Labour politician Greville Janner has revealed he was ordered to drop the case 'from the very top' – despite uncovering compelling evidence to charge him.

Breaking a 24-year silence over the scandal, former Detective Inspector Kelvyn Ashby told The Mail on Sunday that during an investigation lasting several months in 1991, he found vital clues that backed up claims that Janner had molested a teenage boy at his marital home and a hotel.

Last night the retired policeman spoke of his anger after being ordered not to arrest Janner because he was an MP. 

Mr Ashby said: 'I felt we had done a good job. I felt we had enough to arrest him but we didn't because he was an MP. I think we should have done. I was gutted that we didn't.'

Detective Inspector Kelvyn Ashby said he found vital clues that backed up
claims that Janner had molested a teenage boy at his marital home and a hotel

And he revealed he was left sickened when Janner sent him a Christmas card thanking him for the way he was treated and inviting him to dinner at the Commons.

As the cover-up scandal deepens over Janner – now deemed too ill to stand trial despite evidence he abused nine boys over three decades – The Mail On Sunday can also reveal:

The head of children's charity the NSPCC has demanded the Director of Public Prosecutions explain her decision not to let the case against Janner be heard in court

More than 40 politicians have signed a letter condemning the way Janner has been allowed to escape justice

Home Secretary Theresa May told this newspaper that the Janner case could deter other victims of abuse coming forward

Janner went on more than 20 working trips abroad in the years after he was reportedly diagnosed with 

Janner was a well-known Leicester MP, barrister and author when in 1991 he was suddenly publicly accused of child abuse at the trial of a notorious paedophile. 

Predatory children's home boss Frank Beck claimed he had tried to stop a boy in his care from visiting Janner, and sensationally called the alleged victim as a defence witness.

By then aged 30, the alleged victim told jurors he was only 13 when Janner had befriended him. He claimed the politician forced him into sex at a hotel, at his London home and on a tour of Scotland.

No charges were brought against Janner and he was backed by fellow MPs after telling the Commons he had been framed by Beck and his accuser.

Prosecutor Alison Saunders (right) who ruled that Lord Janner (pictured in 1996) would not face trial over alleged child sex abuse trained at the same legal firm where he was a QC

But today it can be told for the first time that police had been desperate to see Janner brought to justice after discovering evidence that corroborated the alleged victim's account.

We can reveal that officers went to the North London home where the boy was allegedly abused by Janner and found that it matched his description exactly, with an en suite bathroom off the master bedroom.

They also proved that Janner had stayed at the hotel in Scotland where he was said to have taken the boy.

1974 Greville Janner, Labour MP and QC, alleged to have begun two years of abuse with teenage boy living at a Leicester children’s home.

November 1991 Claims against Janner first made public at trial of paedophile children’s home boss Frank Beck, with the alleged victim giving detailed evidence against him.

December 1991 Janner defends himself in House of Commons and is supported by fellow MPs after police decide not to take action against him.

2002 Leicestershire Police launch Operation Magnolia into historic abuse at local children’s home and again investigate Janner, but take no action.

2006 Operation Dauntless looks at allegations of child abuse in 1981 by three men – two who were by then dead, and Janner.

December 2007 Local CPS lawyers decide not to charge Janner over the latest allegations – and breach normal procedures by not telling bosses in London since the case involved an MP.

2009 Janner diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, according to the CPS, but continues to speak and vote in the House of Lords, as well as going on 20 working trips abroad, in the next few years.

December 2013 Janner’s home in North London searched as police begin a new investigation, Operation Enamel, into historic sex abuse claims.

March 2014 Officers search Janner’s office in the House of Lords.

April 9, 2015 House of Lords receives letter, purportedly from Janner, saying he wants to continue his leave of absence, which started in October 2014.

April 16, 2015 CPS announce they have evidence to charge Janner with 22 child sex offences against nine victims, but will not do so because he has severe dementia.

Speaking in detail for the first time about the case last night Mr Ashby, now 65, said: 'He gave us an account of Janner's house, how many rooms it had and the layout of the furniture. When we visited, Janner had long since moved but the house was exactly as the alleged victim said it was. I was in no doubt he had been in that house.

'We looked at the Scottish tour and believed him, we established Janner stayed in those hotels but could not prove the boy was with him. But we had the note, his testimony, and the fact a boy had been taken out of care to stay in London with an MP. 

'It meant we had enough in my eyes.' Mr Ashby – at the time a Detective Inspector and the Senior Investigating Officer in the Beck case – was working with a Detective Sergeant called Mick Creedon, now Chief Constable of Derbyshire Police.

Detective Sergeant called Mick Creedon

Mr Ashby said: 'Mick and I believed an arrestable offence had been committed and that once we arrested him we could search his house and see if there was any material that helped corroborate what the alleged victim said.

'Someone higher-up told us that we couldn't just arrest an MP and it went no further. We were told that by someone senior, who I can't name, but the order had to have come from the very top. I'm sure my bosses' hands were tied.

'I was extremely frustrated. We might have found more in his house, or maybe more victims would have come forward. Janner should have been arrested. He was treated differently because he was an MP.' Janner was questioned at a police station in Leicester but refused to answer questions.

Mr Ashby, who left the police in 2002, went on: 'The bit that really got me was that I later got a Christmas card in the post from Greville Janner. 

'The card was an official House of Commons Christmas card and was handwritten. It said something like 'I was very pleased with the way you treated me' and invited me and my wife for a dinner at the House of Commons. I couldn't believe it.

'My wife was disgusted, as was I. Needless to say we never replied and never went. I'm only speaking now because the police investigation has stalled. Also, I have to think about the victims and I feel they have been let down.'

A decade later in 2002, Leicestershire Police began another investigation against Janner but no charges were brought.

Then after a third probe in 2006, by which time Janner had been given a peerage by Tony Blair, detectives passed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service but local officials chose not to charge him.

By then, it would reflect on Tony Blair's poor judgment to charge him. Blair certainly displayed poor judgment in giving him peerage.

In 2013 Leicestershire Police began yet another investigation against Janner and got as far as searching his London home and House of Lords office, while more than 20 victims gave statements against him.

The cover-up scandal deepens over Janner (pictured) – now deemed too ill to stand trial despite evidence he abused nine boys over three decades

Ten days ago Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders announced there was enough evidence to charge Janner with 22 offences against nine alleged victims – but he could not be prosecuted because he has severe dementia.

The CPS claimed Janner was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2009. But analysis of his activities since then shows he went on at least 20 foreign trips, including to Israel and America as part of his work fighting anti-semitism and bringing Nazis to justice. He was still chairman of an all-party Parliamentary group two years ago.

Last night Leicestershire Police declined to comment on Mr Ashby's revelations, but confirmed it is now looking again into the earlier cases.

Janner's family have issued a statement insisting he was 'entirely innocent of any wrongdoing'. Of course they did. What else would you expect them to say, "Oh, yes, he's an old bugger"?

The head of Britain's top children's charity last night condemned the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for her bungling of the Lord Janner child abuse scandal – putting her under greater pressure to quit.

Peter Wanless, the chief executive of the NSPCC, demanded that Alison Saunders explain her controversial decision to keep the sickening allegations against the Labour peer out of court. And he warned her poor handling of the case will deter victims coming forward in the future – and could heighten fears of an Establishment cover-up.

Mr Wanless's accusations, in a letter seen by The Mail on Sunday, will put the beleaguered DPP under greater pressure to step down or reconsider her decision to spare Lord Janner prosecution on the grounds that he has dementia.

In his letter, sent on Thursday, NSPCC chief and key Government adviser Mr Wanless told the DPP he was not challenging the medical evidence that Lord Janner has Alzheimer's so is unfit to stand trial.

Peter Wanless the chief executive of the NSPCC, demanded that Alison Saunders
explain her controversial decision to keep the sickening allegations
against the Labour peer out of court

But he demanded answers as to why law chief Mrs Saunders did not choose a well-established procedure often used when suspects lack mental capacity, known as a 'trial of facts', in which jurors hear evidence but do not find guilt and no punishment is imposed by the judge. 

Mr Wanless said justice should have been done – as the CPS admitted last week it should have charged him after three earlier investigations by Leicestershire Police.

He wrote: 'Given the exceptional historical mistakes in this matter, I would like to understand why you did not deem it in the public interest to have a trial of facts, given this legal mechanism exists to enable the alleged victims to present their evidence in court and have a decision made as to whether Lord Janner carried out the alleged acts.

'The decision by the CPS enables the disparity in the public arena between the position of the alleged victims and those of Lord Janner's family to exist in perpetuity.'

He went on: 'With victims of child sexual abuse, it is the very fact of being able to give evidence in court and have a decision made on the allegations which is so crucial.

'The courage required to come forward when you are or have been a victim of child sexual abuse should not be underestimated.

'We are concerned as to the unintentional consequences the situation could have on encouraging other victims of child sexual abuse to come forward, particularly if the accused sits in a position of influence or power.'

Is it possible that deterring victims from coming forward was part of the intent?

Mr Wanless's letter will carry weight as he is a former senior civil servant who last year was called upon by the Home Office to search its archives for the notorious 'Dickens dossier' on alleged VIP paedophiles.

Mrs Saunders, however, believes it would be wrong to hold a trial of facts, because they are usually used when the suspect poses a danger to the public and a judge needs to impose an order to ensure they receive hospital treatment.

Sounds like it qualifies to me. However, as I pointed out a few days ago, there has been a precedent of holding a trial for a man with advanced dementia. Lord Janner could be tried in absentia!

She told the BBC last week: 'The medical evidence was very clear in this case that there was no ongoing risk.' Oh, right, yeah. What medical evidence?

Mr Wanless still believes that Lord Janner's accusers need to be satisfied that justice has been done.
Mrs Saunders suffered another knock last night after a Survation/MoS poll said calls for her to resign are supported by 44 per of the public with 27 in favour of her staying on.