The backlash against Britain’s top prosecutor is growing after she decided that Labour peer Lord Janner will not face charges of child abuse due to poor health.
Janner stands accused 22 offences against nine victims, but Director of Public Prosecutions Allison Saunders said that he should not stand trial due to his Alzheimer’s Disease.
Saunders is now facing calls to stand down after campaigners, MPs and police chiefs accused her of ignoring victims’ rights, saying that the decision looks like an Establishment cover-up. Leicestershire Police is now considering a judicial review of the decision.
The Daily Mail reports that even one of Mrs Saunders’ predecessors, Lord Macdonald, said that the allegations should have been resolved in the “full glare of a courtroom”.
The severity of Lord Janner’s illness has also been questioned after it emerged he wrote to the House of Lords just two weeks ago saying he would like to continue as a peer after next month’s general election.
Mrs Saunders’ decision not to prosecute may also mean that Janner’s alleged victims may be unable to sue for compensation as the claims against him remain unproven.
Labour’s Simon Danczuk said: “Mrs Saunders is now seen as a roadblock to justice and it’s hard to see how her position remains tenable.”
One of Janner’s alleged victims has also called for Saunders to resign, saying her decision points to an Establishment cover-up.
Waiving his right to anonymity, Hamish Bailey, now 47, said he was molested by Janner when he was 15 years old. He told the Daily Mail: “I don’t think anybody other than the victims and the police involved in the Operation Enamel inquiry understand how perverted a man Lord Janner is.
“He has blighted my life… How can [the Crown Prosecution Service] publicise the fact that there was enough evidence to charge, yet then say it is not in the public interest to pursue it?”
It has also been revealed that before taking her decision, Saunders consulted with a barrister who worked at the same chambers as Lord Janner’s son. The Times reports that Neil Moore, the principal legal advisor to the Director of Public Prosecutions, was based at 23 Essex Street chambers where Daniel Janner QC works.
A spokesman denied any impropriety, saying Mr Moore was a barrister of the highest integrity and had not spoken to Mr Janner for two years.
Yesterday, Conservative David Davis called Saunders “the worst [Director of Public Prosecutions] in living memory.”
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.