Day 4 of Janner hearings of #CSAinquiry behind closed doors ALL DAY again:
Tony Butler, senior Leicestershire Police officer who oversaw investigation into Frank Beck in 1991 in which allegations against Greville Janner MP arose. And Mark Williams of CPS.
#SecretCSAinquiry
Tony Butler, senior Leicestershire Police officer who oversaw investigation into Frank Beck in 1991 in which allegations against Greville Janner MP arose. And Mark Williams of CPS.
#SecretCSAinquiry
After I highlighted how #CSAinquiry had been seeking to keep secret even the operational name of the police investigation into Frank Beck, and then, Greville Janner MP in 1991, it has finally made public what it was called: Operation Intern.
Tony Butler was Leicestershire’s assistant chief constable when he oversaw Operation Intern, inv into Frank Beck and then Greville Janner MP. He later became deputy chief constable and has since retired. He is giving evidence behind closed doors at #CSAinquiry. #SecretCSAinquiry
The investigation in 1991 was the first of four police probes into Greville, later Lord, Janner. #CSAinquiry yesterday heard from DCI Kelvyn Ashby, who says that he was stopped from arresting Janner even though “a man off the street” would have been.
Although much is in public domain about this police probe, #CSAinquiry has banned discussion of it in Janner hearings. It even kept secret that it was ‘Operation Intern’ until after I highlighted this.
This is why Tony Butler is testifying behind closed doors. #SecretCSAinquiry
This is why Tony Butler is testifying behind closed doors. #SecretCSAinquiry
However, I AM able to tell you what Tony Butler has to say about the first police probe into Greville Janner MP in 1991.
Despite this Orwellian attempt by the #CSAinquiry to delete it from history.
And that is because he has spoken about it in PUBLIC…
Despite this Orwellian attempt by the #CSAinquiry to delete it from history.
And that is because he has spoken about it in PUBLIC…
Tony Butler has accepted it to be likely that, as Leicestershire’s assistant chief constable, he made the decision not to carry out an arrest of Greville Janner in 1991.
He said that there was no risk of Janner fleeing, offending, destroying evidence or failing to co-operate…
He said that there was no risk of Janner fleeing, offending, destroying evidence or failing to co-operate…
Tony Butler said: “From what I can recall of the evidence, and from looking at papers now, I don’t see there was a justification to arrest Greville Janner.”
He described the evidence against Lord Janner as “quite slim”, especially given the legal culture of the time.
He described the evidence against Lord Janner as “quite slim”, especially given the legal culture of the time.
Tony Butler said re Greville Janner: “But it certainly wasn’t a cover-up.
“I was certainly not leaned on not to arrest him, and there was no influence brought to bear from outside the force that influenced that decision.”
“I was certainly not leaned on not to arrest him, and there was no influence brought to bear from outside the force that influenced that decision.”
Tony Butler gave this account of the police investigation in 1991 into Greville Janner, including why he did not think the MP’s arrest was warranted, to the BBC in 2015 despite attempt by #SecretCSAinquiry to delete it from history: bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan…
Following a long lunch adjournment, I am back to resume coverage of today’s Janner hearing of #CSAinquiry that was again held entirely behind closed doors. #SecretCSAinquiry
“Summary” by #CSAinquiry of evidence in closed session today records that unnamed retired senior police officer – but who was identified in the published timetable as Tony Butler – DENIES “categorically” giving any instruction not to arrest Greville Janner or deciding the same.
Twitter broke tonight. I will resume my tweet thread on Day 4 of Janner hearings of #CSAinquiry later this morning.
Asked to clarify previous comments (see tweets earlier in thread) that appear to contradict his testimony today, Tony Butler said that he was speaking previously without benefit of reviewing all the documentation, according to #CSAinquiry “summary” of evidence in closed session.
Tony Butler: there “wasn’t a cover up”.
There were “a lot of other issues… that may have… led to the fact that [Janner] wasn’t prosecuted,” including culture of criminal justice system, which was “fairly brutal in relation to victims making allegations of child sexual abuse”.
There were “a lot of other issues… that may have… led to the fact that [Janner] wasn’t prosecuted,” including culture of criminal justice system, which was “fairly brutal in relation to victims making allegations of child sexual abuse”.
An unnamed senior crown prosecutor, yet named in published timetable as Mark Williams, acknowledged that he was frustrated with police for not conducting identified further lines of enquiry re Greville Janner, according to #CSAinquiry “summary” of evidence in closed session.
The scant “summary” by #CSAinquiry of evidence behind closed doors fails to make clear that the evidence of Mark Williams of CPS concerned the first police investigation into Greville Janner, then a Labour MP, that sprang out of the Frank Beck case in 1991…
And the scant “summary” by #CSAinquiry in camera fails to specify what further actions Mark Williams felt the police had failed to carry out, and whether it included obvious omission, raised by Kelvyn Ashby yesterday, of not arresting Greville Janner. See:
https://twitter.com/MarkWatts_1/status/1316287123063033858
Mark Williams: decision not to take any action against Greville Janner, then a Labour MP, after police investigation in 1991 was right at the time and it remains right now, according to #CSAinquiry “summary” of evidence in closed session: iicsa.org.uk/key-documents/…
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