Lord Janner decision is a partial victory for the alleged victims
Those who want their day in court haven’t got that – but at least Justice Goddard’s decision to examine the Janner case does mean their voices will be publically heard.
Justice Goddard has today announced that she will be examining all the evidence the Crown Prosecution has gathered in this case, as well as reviewing the CPS’s decision not to prosecute as part of her independent public inquiry into historic child abuse.
So this is a partial victory for the alleged victims.
Child abuse inquiry will investigate Lord Janner claims
It is also a response to growing public concern that forces within the “Establishment” did not do enough over the decades to investigate suspicions of child abuse from within its own ranks - either through willful or careless neglect.
This is also a blow for Alison Saunders, the Director of Public Prosecutions, although her team has publically welcomed the Goddard intervention and said they will provide all the documentation the enquiry needs from them. For Saunders it only adds to the pressure she’s faced since deciding not to prosecute Lord Janner because of his failing health.
Lord Janner’s family maintain he is innocent of all the allegations against him.