Part of the House of Lords has been searched by police investigating historic child sex abuse claims against a Labour peer. Up to eight officers from Leicestershire Police swooped on the office of Greville Janner as part of an ongoing inquiry linked to children’s homes in the county. Officers took the highly unusual step of entering Parliament to raid his office and seize computer equipment just weeks before submitting a dossier on the peer to the Crown Prosecution Service. The offices of Lord Janner were raided by officers from Leicestershire police in March, it has emerged . The move came after police spent several days searching the 85-year-old politician’s home in Golders Green, north-west London, in December. The widowed father of three, a Labour MP in Leicester from 1970 to 1997, has not been arrested in connection with the allegations and police have yet to send a full file of evidence to the CPS. But preliminary papers have been served to prosecutors who are advising detectives on the progress of the investigation which started last year after a man came forward claiming he was abused as a teenager in the 1970s by Lord Janner. The probe has been linked to pervert Frank Beck, who was found guilty of abusing more than 100 children in the 1970s and 1980s. Beck, who ran three children’s homes in Leicestershire, was given five life sentences and died behind bars. Two hundred children complained they had been abused by him over 13 years to 1986. In Beck’s 1991 trial, a 30-year-old man said he had been abused by Lord Janner, who was still an MP at the time, while he was in care aged 13. Lord Janner was not prosecuted and received cross-party support in the Commons when he said there was ‘not a shred of truth’ in the claims. Police rarely enter the Houses of Parliament because of the age-old principle of parliamentary privilege intended to guarantee politicians’ freedom of speech. It is highly unusual for police to enter the House of Parliament to carry out searches, because MPs and peers are usually protected by parliamentary privilege. In the past decade, searches of members’ offices have been carried out only a handful of times. The Commons office of former Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans was raided last year by police investigating allegations of rape and sexual assault. He was later acquitted. In 2008 the Metropolitan Police searched the office of Tory immigration spokesman Damian Green over allegations he had leaked information from the Home Office. Mr Green denied this and in 2009 the CPS said it would not be bringing charges against him. To obtain permission to search a member’s office, police have to go through a lengthy process which involves getting a search warrant sanctioned by a judge before alerting the Clerk of the Parliaments and Black Rod, a senior officer in the Lords responsible for security. Yesterday Leicestershire Police refused to confirm what was seized during the raid which took place in March but was only made public yesterday. But a spokesman said the search was monitored by senior House of Lords officials, adding: ‘No arrests or charges have been made and enquiries continue.’ Two men aged 69 and 63 from Corby, Northamptonshire, have been quizzed in connection with the allegations but not arrested. Lord Janner, who was appointed a QC in 1971, is a prominent campaigner for Jewish rights and a former president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews. His legal team has confirmed he is helping with inquiries, but Lord Janner was unavailable for comment yesterday.
Leicestershire police carry out search of office in Houses of Parliament .
It was part of an ongoing inquiry into non-recent child sexual abuse .
Greville Janner was a Leicestershire Labour MP from 1970 to 1997 .
Part of the House of Lords has been searched by police investigating historic child sex abuse claims against a Labour peer. Up to eight officers from Leicestershire Police swooped on the office of Greville Janner as part of an ongoing inquiry linked to children’s homes in the county. Officers took the highly unusual step of entering Parliament to raid his office and seize computer equipment just weeks before submitting a dossier on the peer to the Crown Prosecution Service. The offices of Lord Janner were raided by officers from Leicestershire police in March, it has emerged . The move came after police spent several days searching the 85-year-old politician’s home in Golders Green, north-west London, in December. The widowed father of three, a Labour MP in Leicester from 1970 to 1997, has not been arrested in connection with the allegations and police have yet to send a full file of evidence to the CPS. But preliminary papers have been served to prosecutors who are advising detectives on the progress of the investigation which started last year after a man came forward claiming he was abused as a teenager in the 1970s by Lord Janner. The probe has been linked to pervert Frank Beck, who was found guilty of abusing more than 100 children in the 1970s and 1980s. Beck, who ran three children’s homes in Leicestershire, was given five life sentences and died behind bars. Two hundred children complained they had been abused by him over 13 years to 1986. In Beck’s 1991 trial, a 30-year-old man said he had been abused by Lord Janner, who was still an MP at the time, while he was in care aged 13. Lord Janner was not prosecuted and received cross-party support in the Commons when he said there was ‘not a shred of truth’ in the claims. Police rarely enter the Houses of Parliament because of the age-old principle of parliamentary privilege intended to guarantee politicians’ freedom of speech. It is highly unusual for police to enter the House of Parliament to carry out searches, because MPs and peers are usually protected by parliamentary privilege. In the past decade, searches of members’ offices have been carried out only a handful of times. The Commons office of former Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans was raided last year by police investigating allegations of rape and sexual assault. He was later acquitted. In 2008 the Metropolitan Police searched the office of Tory immigration spokesman Damian Green over allegations he had leaked information from the Home Office. Mr Green denied this and in 2009 the CPS said it would not be bringing charges against him. To obtain permission to search a member’s office, police have to go through a lengthy process which involves getting a search warrant sanctioned by a judge before alerting the Clerk of the Parliaments and Black Rod, a senior officer in the Lords responsible for security. Yesterday Leicestershire Police refused to confirm what was seized during the raid which took place in March but was only made public yesterday. But a spokesman said the search was monitored by senior House of Lords officials, adding: ‘No arrests or charges have been made and enquiries continue.’ Two men aged 69 and 63 from Corby, Northamptonshire, have been quizzed in connection with the allegations but not arrested. Lord Janner, who was appointed a QC in 1971, is a prominent campaigner for Jewish rights and a former president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews. His legal team has confirmed he is helping with inquiries, but Lord Janner was unavailable for comment yesterday.
the office of Greville Janner as part of an ongoing inquiry linked to children’s homes in the by officers from Leicestershire police in March, a Labour MP in Leicester from 1970 to 1997, has Houses of Parliament because of the age-old Parliament to carry out searches, because MPs and