FORMER Labour peer Lord Greville Janner finally appeared in court yesterday afternoon to face child abuse charges after judges warned he could face arrest if he didn’t attend.

His lawyer Paul Ozin had argued that he should be allowed to appear via video link at Westminster magistrates’ court.

But District Judge Emma Arbuthnot expressed impatience with the lengthy legal wrangling over the issue. She said: “Even if I have to have him arrested I am going to resolve this matter today.

“I’m warning you that as time progresses I’m going to turn to the prosecution and say: ‘let’s get a warrant to have him arrested, let’s not waste time’.”

Mr Ozin then told the court: “I can confirm that Lord Janner will attend this court at 2pm this afternoon.”

In response, the judge said that if the hearing became too much for Lord Janner, she would “immediately abort” and continue in his absence.

His legal team had been insisting that he was too ill

to attend in person because of his advanced dementia.

Two High Court judges rejected an application by the defence on Thursday which ruled that an appearance by the 87-year-old former Labour peer and MP must take place because of “the obvious and strong public interest in ensuring those summoned to court attend when required.”

The judges said that the public interest outweighed any personal distress that might be

caused to Lord Janner, who faces 22 child abuse charges spanning a period from the 1960s to the ’80s.

Mr Ozin had asked the High Court to use its powers to stop a warrant being issued and give Lord Janner time to seek judicial review of the decision to order him to court.

He argued that the unchallenged medical evidence was that Lord Janner was suffering from severe dementia because of Alzheimer’s disease and showing symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and that the peer would be unfit to plead or attend any trial.

He described the decision of Senior District Judge Howard Riddle, chief magistrate at Westminster, to require Lord Janner’s attendance as “irrational and perverse” and said it threatened to rob the peer of his dignity.

The judges rejected Mr Janner’s application without calling on the Crown Prosecution Service to defend Judge Riddle’s decision.

Lord Janner made a brief appearance in court at 2pm where he confirmed his name.