(UK) Lord Janner to be prosecuted over child sex abuse claims

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http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jun/29/lord-janner-to-be-prosecuted-over-child-sex-abuse-claims-cps



Director of public prosecutions Alison Saunders refuses to step down after her decision not to charge peer over child abuse claims is overturned

Lord Janner to be prosecuted over child sex abuse claims
Rajeev Syal
Monday 29 June 2015 05.35 EDT

The future of Alison Saunders, the director of public prosecutions, will come under intense scrutiny after she confirmed that her previous decision not to charge Lord Janner in connection with child abuse allegations had been overturned.

The ruling means Janner will face a trial of the facts, where a jury hears the evidence against an individual considered too ill for a full trial. This is expected to be held into the 22 offences allegedly committed in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

The decision follows a review of the case under the CPS victims’ right to review scheme, which allows people to have their case looked at again no matter who in the CPS took the decision not to prosecute. The review, by David Perry QC, concluded that it was in the public interest to bring proceedings before a criminal court.

Saunders told the BBC she would not resign. “I don’t think this is a decision I should resign over. It is one I took very carefully and with the victims at the heart of that,” she said. Saunders defended her previous decisions in a statement, saying it was she who referred the decision to an independent lawyer for review.