Lord Janner ordered to appear before judge on August 14 over abuse charges

Updated

Lord Janner has been ordered to appear before a judge in person next Friday for a hearing over child sex charges despite suffering from severe dementia.

The former Labour peer and MP did not attend Westminster Magistrates' Court for an initial hearing today, with his lawyers saying he was too ill to come and may suffer a "catastrophic reaction" if produced.

But chief magistrate Howard Riddle ruled that Janner, who faces 22 charges spanning a period from the 1960s to the 1980s, did not have to understand or play a part in the initial hearing but was required by law to attend.

The district judge ruled that Janner must appear before him on Friday August 14 but asked prosecutors and defence lawyers to examine the possibility of holding the hearing elsewhere - potentially including the defendant's home. They will meet again on Tuesday to consider arrangements for the "novel position" the court had found itself in, Mr Riddle said.

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