Lord Janner will not have to attend court next week
Lord Janner will not be compelled to attend court next week when his case comes to the Old Bailey.
The 87-year-old peer was due for his first Crown Court appearance over 22 child sex abuse charges spanning three decades.
He faces 15 counts of indecent assault and seven counts of a separate sexual offence against a total of nine alleged victims over the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
Mr Justice Sweeney, presiding judge for the south eastern circuit, will hear the case at the Old Bailey from 2.30pm on Tuesday.
But sources at the court confirmed that the senior judge would not require Lord Janner to be present for the hearing.
The peer had been forced to turn up at Westminster Magistrates’ Court for an initial hearing after a week-long wrangle over the issue.
His attendance lasted just 59 seconds and came after numerous attempts by his defence lawyers – three court hearings over a week – to avoid him having to attend.
His legal team insisted he was too ill to go because of his advanced dementia.
But two senior judges ruled the former Labour peer and MP must attend because of “the obvious and strong public interest in ensuring those summoned to court attend when required”.
Dressed in a soiled bottle green cardigan, blue T-shirt and navy trousers and, using a walking stick, he entered the courtroom saying: “Oooh, this is wonderful.”
He sat at a desk near the entrance used for vulnerable witnesses and looked around the room before being asked if he was Lord Janner.
He replied: “Yes.”
The peer was escorted into the courtroom by a minder and woman believed to be his daughter.
Calling him “daddy”, she said: “We’re going to go home and have an ice cream.”
Janne,r in Muswell Hill, north London, is on unconditional bail.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
