Letter from Anthony Julius, Deputy Chairman, Mishcon de Reya LLP, on behalf of Lord Brittan's family, to the Chair of the Committee, 20 October 2015

Dear Mr Vaz

Police Investigation of Leon Brittan

I am writing to you on behalf of Lord Brittan's family. I understand you have called a special session of the Home Affairs Select Committee to look at the police investigation into Lord Brittan and in particular to examine the roles of Tom Watson MP, the Metropolitan Police, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Crown Prosecution Service. The family has not been invited to attend the committee and they feel it would not be appropriate to do so. However, the committee should understand how deeply distressed the family is by the way in which Lord Brittan's reputation has been traduced by Tom Watson and by the way in which the Metropolitan Police dealt with the allegation against Lord Brittan during his lifetime and how they then dealt with his widow after his death.

In this regard there are some events which have had a particularly hurtful impact on the family:

1. The remarks made on the floor of the House of Commons and the interview later which Tom Watson MP gave on 12th October 2015 where he said that there is 'far more than meets the eye to this case'. This was extremely distressing.

2. The fact that the Metropolitan Police seemed not to care about Lord Brittan's reputation nor any distress caused to the family by their treatment of him.

3. The delay in letting the Brittan family know that there was no case to answer.

4. The apparent leaking of Lord Brittan's name to the press after each step taken by the police and the stress that caused, especially as Lord Brittan was seriously ill. As a result of one of these leaks Lady Brittan's car was chased on two occasions.

5. The comments made by Tom Watson MP so soon after Lord Brittan's death on Twitter and elsewhere.

6. The simultaneous search undertaken of Lady Brittan's homes in London and Yorkshire six weeks after Lord Brittan's death; the justification offered for those searches, and the speedy leaking of the searches to the press.

7. The fact that the police conducted an identity parade on the rape allegation when Lord Brittan was a recognisable public figure.

8. The  impression  the  family  had  that  the  police  were  treating  Lord  Brittan less favourably than an ordinary citizen.

There are other areas of concern to Lord Brittan's family:

I. What guidelines were the police violating (Tom Watson's letter to the CPS on 28th April 2014, quoted in the Sunday People on 18th May 2014 and on the Exaro website on 20th May 2014)?

2. Was it the Watson letter which caused the rape case to be reopened, despite the fact that the police had already concluded that there was no case to answer?

Attached to this letter is a timeline of events and supporting documentation[1]. Yours sincerely

Anthony Julius

Deputy Chairman