Labour peer Lord Janner dies at 87

Janner was this month ruled unfit to stand trial for a string of alleged sex offences against boys dating back 50 years due to “deteriorating and irreversible” dementia.

Lord Greville Janner, at one time arguably the most prominent Jewish community leader in the United Kingdom, died today at age 87 after a long illness, Ha’aretz reported.

In April this year the Crown Prosecution Service admitted Lord Janner should have faced multiple child sex abuse charges in 1991 and again in 2007.

However, a “trial of the facts” had been due to take place in his absence in April, when a jury could decide whether Janner did in fact commit the abuse, but with no finding of guilt or conviction over the allegations by former residents of children’s homes in the 1960s, 70s and 80s.

An ongoing legal case had been investigating claims against him relating to historic child abuse, but a series of judges had ruled he was not fit to stand trial.

After news of Janner’s death broke, Liz Dux, abuse lawyer at Slater and Gordon, who represents six alleged victims, said: ‘This is devastating news for my clients.

“All they have ever wanted is to give their evidence in court and have these very serious allegations tested and to be believed”.

Lord Janner’s family said he would be “deeply missed” and requested their mourning be respected.

He was accused of 15 counts of indecent assault and seven counts of a separate sexual offence against a total of nine alleged victims. His death will nearly certainly bring an end to the planned trial of the facts, although theoretically it could still go ahead.

Cambridge-educated Lord Janner was MP for Leicester North West from 1970 to 1974 and for Leicester West until 1997.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Janner family at this most hard time”.