British prosecutors said on Monday that an ageing member of the House of Lords would now face criminal action over accusations of serious historical child sex crimes after they overturned an earlier decision following anger from alleged victims.
Lord Greville Janner, 86, a former Labour member of Parliament and ex-president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, is accused of more than 20 offences on former residents of children’s homes in the 1970s and 1980s.
In April, Alison Saunders, Britain’s director of public prosecutions, said there was evidence to bring charges against Lord Janner, who has always denied any wrongdoing, over 16 allegations of indecent assaults and six other counts.
But she said he was not fit to plead or give evidence because he was suffering from severe dementia, and so a trial could not take place.
Britain is holding a wide-ranging inquiry into allegations of abuse by high-profile figures including politicians, several police investigations have begun and critics said the decision added to a perception that the establishment was closing ranks.
Six complainants asked for the matter to be reconsidered using a recently introduced scheme called the “victims’ right to review”, which allows them to have their cases looked at again. That review concluded that it was in the public interest for the case to go before the courts.
“I have always said that in my view this was an extremely difficult and borderline case because of the strong arguments on both sides,” Ms Saunders said.
