The VITAL QUESTIONS Lord MP Greville Janner MUST answer1


QUESTIONS Greville Janner must answer start with his pre-emptive visit in March 1991 to the Leicester Police. This visit would appear to have been prompted by the outburst at Leicester Magistrates Court of former childrens home warden Frank Beck after he had been remanded for trial. As he was being led below, Beck shouted out a remark which implied that Greville Janner should be facing prosecution.

Beck\’s remark was very vague. It was only briefly reported in one or two newspapers and achieved no TV or radio coverage. Greville Janner is not publicity shy. Everything from his pink carnation buttonholes to his entry in Whos Who betokens his craving for attention.
Public figures are often made the target for abuse by malignant cranks. Celebrities soon learn to ignore such irritations as an inevitable, if unwelcome, result of their high profiles.
Any public figure innocent of anything remotely like the sexual abuse of youngsters would be utterly nonplussed by Becks outburst and would shrug it off as the ravings of just another crank – and would presume that everybody else, including the police, would do likewise.

We therefore ask Janner:

1. Why did he feel it necessary to make an uninvited visit to the police to discuss the matter?

2. Why did he, a QC, think it necessary to secure the services of Sir David Napley, the most expensive lawyer in England, to accompany him on that visit?

3. Why did it take two hours to state that he was totally innocent of any crimes and utterly mystified by Becks outburst? Would not a one-paragraph letter have sufficed for this purpose?
According to evidence given by Beck at his trial, he had written to the Director of Leicester Social Services in the late 1970s complaining about Greville Janners relationship with one of the boys in his care, Paul Winston, then aged 14 or 15. As two prosecution witnesses attested, Beck took steps to terminate Janners relationship with Winston by forbidding visits and outings and intercepting letters.

Janner pressed his attentions and at one point turned up at the home unannounced with a bicycle as a present for Winston. We ask Janner:

4. Why did he not accept the judgement of Beck, who was in loco parentis (and who at that time was highly thought-of) and allow the relationship with Winston to lapse?

5. Had he been not notified at any time prior to 1991 that the Director of Social Services had received a letter of complaint about him? If so, why did he not issue a Writ for Libel against Beck?

6. Had he been interviewed by the police at any time prior to 1991 in conn­ection with Becks letter to the Director of Social Services and/or conduct alluded to by Beck in his court outburst?
According to Janner, when Beck realised that he was to be prosecuted for child sex abuse he contacted Janner and asked for a character reference and that Janner¹s refusal to provide such had prompted Beck to engage in a vendetta. We ask Janner:

7. Why did he refuse Becks request? Was it simply an act of revenge for Becks termination of his relationship with Paul Winston, or did he have infor­mation, which reflected serious discredit on Beck? What was this information? Did he communicate this information to any appropriate authority? If so, to which and when? And if not, why not?

8. In view of the unhappy history of his contact with Beck prior to 1991, can he advance any suggestion as to why Beck might imagine that his application for a character reference to him would be successful? Could Becks request be construed as a blackmail demand?

Greville Janner has not denied knowing Paul Winston during the late 1970s. In his House of Commons statement Janner made a point of asserting that his wife and family were involved with him in his efforts to help the boy.

According to Winstons evidence, he caught Janners eye on a school visit to the House of Commons. Thereafter Janner sent Winston return rail tickets to visit him at Westminster on several occasions.

On the third trip to London Janner took the boy to his home to stay overnight. Janners wife and family were not present.

Winston testified that he was given his own bedroom but as he cried from homesickness Janner took him to his bed to comfort him, whereupon they cuddled and fondled each other. We ask Janner:

9. If not only he but his wife and family were involved in trying to help Winston, why did he arrange for Winstons first visit to his home – an over­night visit – to take place when his wife and family would be away?
In his House of Commons statement Janner declared that Winstons sexual assault allegations contained not a shred of truth. However, we ask Janner:

10. Did he show good judgement in inviting a young boy to stay overnight with him at his home whilst his wife and family were absent even if he did not take him to bed?

11. On how many occasions did he invite Winston to his home to stay over­night when his wife was present?

12. Did he in fact take Winston to bed to comfort him? Did this comfort­ing involve him in cuddling or any other kind of physical contact?

13. Does he think it appropriate that a man in his position should share his bed with a teenage boy, even where no physical contact is involved?
Winston testified that he engaged in numerous sexual encounters with Janner in his suite at The Holiday Inn, Leicester. Apart from hanky-panky in the hotels swimming pool changing rooms, it was in a double bed that Janners various types of sexual assault culminated in lubricant-assisted buggery.

All these sexual assaults detailed in Winstons testimony will also have been covered by Janners all-purpose general denial. However, we ask Janner:

14. Did he ever invite Winston to visit him at The Holiday Inn? If so, on how many occasions? On how many of these occasions were his wife or any members of his family present?

15. Did he ever invite Winston to stay overnight with him at the hotel? If so, why, bearing in mind the boy resided in Leicester? Again, if so, did they at any time-share the same bed?

16. If Winston at no time stayed overnight at the hotel, did the boy ever leave the public parts of the hotel and join him in his private apartment? If so, why?

Winstons relationship with Janner was maintained during his 13th, 14th and possibly 15th year.
At some stage Winston was moved to the home administered by Beck. According to the testimony of two prosecution witnesses (a girl in care at the home and one of the staff members) Winston often boasted of being a rent boy with friends in high places.

Rent boys as brazen as this, though by no means always effeminate, tend to adopt mannerisms which signal their proclivities. We ask Janner:

17. As a man of the world, did he not recognise the signs of Winstons sexual orientation – and his promiscuity? Did he show good judgement in entertaining such a youngster at his home or in hotels or having any contact with him other than in the presence of his wife and family and/or social workers?

That question also applies to the two-week holiday in Scotland (again at an expensive hotel) to which Janner treated Winston. During this holiday Winston claims he was sexually abused by Janner. Winston also volunteered in his evidence that he stole more than once from Janners wallet. We ask Janner:

18. Did his wife or any of his family accompany him on this holiday?

19. Did he and Winston share the same sleeping accommodation and/or the same bed? If so, why?

20. Why did he not terminate the holiday and return Winston to the home once he realised, as he must have done, that the boy was stealing from his wallet?

21. Why did he keep quiet about these thefts? Why did he not report them to the police – or at least to staff at the home? Why did he maintain contact with the boy after the thefts, continuing to buy him expensive presents? How could such pampering of a young thief help to reform him?
OTHER BOYS HELPED?

In view of Janners general interest in youth welfare it may be that he has directed lavish help to other wayward or troubled young lads. We ask Janner:

22. How many other boys has he helped in the way that he says he and his wife and family helped Paul Winston? If there were others, were each or any of these invited to stay overnight with him at his home or in hotels, or taken on holidays, without his wife and family being present?

Finally, of course, the management of the Beck trial by Mr. Justice Jowitt is an important issue in this whole affair. He attempted to prohibit media reporting of the trial, and then interrupted the examination of witnesses to prevent Greville Janners name being mentioned. We ask Janner:

23. Did he – or others acting in his interests – use extensive political, legal, or other more secretive contacts to see to it that the trial judge would be briefed as to his predicament and to pull every stroke to try and protect him?

There are other questions to be asked: questions which must be answered by The Lord Chancellor, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Leicester Police and the Director of Leicester Social Services.

WHICH OFFICIALS JOINED TO HELP JANNER PLAN?

A NUMBER of senior public officials have got a lot of explaining to do if the widely held belief that the authorities engaged in a cover-up to protect Greville Janner is to be dispelled.

The first candidate for questioning must be the Lord Chancellor, Lord Mackay of Clashfern, who as head of the Judiciary, must answer for the astounding conduct of the Judge in the trial of Frank Beck, Mr. Justice Edwin Jowitt We ask the Lord Chancellor:

1. Are there any kind of formal legal proceedings available to a person who knows he is to be mentioned in connection with criminal conduct during a forthcoming trial (in which he is not an accused or a witness) whereby he can make representations to the judge listed to try the case?

2. Are there any kind of lawful but informal means whereby a person in such a situation might make such representations to a trial judge?

3. Do exalted members of the legal profession have an exceptional right to make such representations to a trial judge?

4. If as we believe, his answers to the first three questions herein must be a definite NO, then how can he explain Judge Jowitts determination at the very outset of the trial to do all he could to shield Greville Janner?

We are unaware of any official statement issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions to the effect that a formal decision had been taken not to prosecute Janner.
However, a number of newspapers reported that the DPP had ³let it be known² that Janner would not be prosecuted and suggested that the reason for this was ³lack of any evidence² to support the testimony of Janner¹s alleged victim, Paul Winston.

At a later stage we will be directing certain questions to the Chief Constable of the Leicester Police concerning his officers report to the DPP concerning the Winston/Janner relationship, but in the meanwhile, we ask the Director of Public Prosecutions:

1. Have there not been successful prosecutions for sexual assault – rape, for example – in which the sole witness was the victim, and where there was no conclusive supporting forensic evidence?

2. Have there not been successful prosecutions for incestuous child abuse long after there was any possibility of securing forensic or other evidence to support the allegations of the victim, who was often the sole witness?

3. Did not Paul Winston give the police very substantial and accurate detail in support of his allegations with regard to such things as Greville Janner¹s home bedroom and bedrooms at various hotels, Janner¹s person and myriad other relevant matters – which he could not possibly have invented?

4. Is it not often the case that men who prey on young boys deliberately seek out youngsters with insecure or non-existent family backgrounds and who are perhaps verging on delinquency or vagrancy, not only because such boys are inadequately supervised and often desperate for money (and love!) but also because the predators hope that such boys would be unlikely to voice complaints to the authorities and, if they did, their word would not be valued?

We have no reason to doubt that the Leicester Police did a thorough job of investigation. However, we would wish to be, assured on certain points. Therefore, we ask the Leicester Chief Constable:

1. Were the records of the Leicester Holiday Inn and the hotel in Scotland for the material times checked against Winstons story? Were the staff of those hotels traced and interviewed?

2. When the police interviewed Paul Winston for the first time (when they were conducting interviews with all the youngsters who had been in Frank Becks care) was not the sole objective of the interview to obtain informa­tion about Beck? If so, would this not explain why Winston did not make any complaint against Janner in that interview?

3. What were the circumstances during the second interview with Winston, which prompted either the police to solicit – or Winston to volunteer – inform­ation about other adult sexual predators? How did Janners name arise?

4. In the late 1970s did the Leicester Social Services notify the police that a letter had been received from the warden of one of its childrens homes (Frank Beck) complaining about the relationship between Paul Winston and Greville Janner? If so, did the police interview Janner at the time? If not, why not?

This topic leads us on to our final respondent. We ask the Director of Leicester Social Services:

1. Was a letter received from one of its wardens, Frank Beck, complaining of a relationship between one of the departments wards. Paul Winston, and Greville Janner?

2. What action did the department take? Was the matter notified to the police? If not, why not? Was a warning-off letter or verbal warning issued to Janner? If not, why not?

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