The family of Hampstead Labour peer Lord Greville Janner have said he is “entirely innocent of any wrongdoing” after prosecutors dropped a child sex abuse case against him.

Today, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced it would not be prosecuting the 86-year-old in relation to accusations he abused children in Leicestershire children’s homes in the 1970s and ‘80s because he is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

The head of Leicestershire Police Sir Clive Loader described the decision not to prosecute as “wholly perverse” after his officers spent two years building a case against Lord Janner, including a search of his home in West Heath Road in December 2013.

Labour has today suspended the life peer from the party.

In a statement issued through lawyers, Lord Janner’s family said the CPS decision should not be taken to mean that any of the allegations were true.

The statement read: “Lord Janner is a man of great integrity and high repute with a long and unblemished record of public service. He is entirely innocent of any wrongdoing.

“As the Crown Prosecution Service indicated today, this decision does not mean or imply that any of the allegations that have been made are established or that Lord Janner is guilty of any offence.”