MP pledges to fight for justice in CPS dementia case

NEWBURY MP Richard Benyon has vowed to “fight for justice” after the Crown Prosecution Service refused to prosecute a carer who appeared to drag a frail dementia sufferer across the floor of her Newbury home.

During the eight minutes of video footage, recorded in July 2013, confused pensioner Lotte Butcher can be heard repeatedly screaming as the carer grabs her wrists.
The incident was captured on CCTV installed by the woman’s son Michael in order keep a protective eye on his mother.
The ordeal ceases when the manager of the sheltered housing complex in which the woman lives hears her cries and intervenes.
The carer was later arrested and charged by police. The charge was later dropped by the CPS, who ruled that it was “not in the public interest” to prosecute.
That decision means the carer has been cleared by the Disclosure and Barring Service and therefore permitted to work with children and vulnerable adults.
Son Mr Butcher, aged 49, who runs the Two Cocks Brewery with Phil Palmer, said: “It is absolutely devastating to see someone you love, and care about, frightened and in pain. This is not even about my mother anymore. This is to protect other elderly and vulnerable people.
He said he found the fact that the carer was still allowed to work in the same field “disgusting”.
Mr Butcher, who paid the Bluebird Care Agency in Newbury £16 an hour to provide care for his mother, added: “I want some kind of justice. If this kind of thing happened to a child everyone would be up in arms, but because it is an elderly, vulnerable person, no-one seems to care.”
The CPS’s decision not to prosecute has been condemned by Newbury MP Richard Benyon, who has promised to “fight for justice”.
Mr Benyon has already raised the issue with the Prime Minister and the Attorney General.
He said: “The DBS tells me that unless the carer has been prosecuted they cannot be prevented from caring again. It is unsatisfactory and deeply distressing. I am determined to keep pressing this issue.
He said he thought the CPS had made a mistake, and his aim was to get some justice, but, much more importantly, to get the message across the country that incidents against vulnerable people will not be tolerated.
A spokeswoman for the CPS, Louise Rosher, said: “This was an extremely sad case and we understand the feelings of Mrs Butcher's family.
“It is very rare that a case where there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction for an alleged assault on a vulnerable, elderly person is not prosecuted, but the circumstances in this case were exceptional.
“We have conducted a rigorous review of the case, including further detailed scrutiny of the CCTV, but although an alleged assault may have been possible to prove, our conclusion that any action on the part of the carer was without malice, forethought, or anger, meant the decision was taken not to prosecute.”
In a letter to Mr Benyon, the CPS said it was “not in the public interest” to prosecute the carer as only a “minimal sentence” would be likely to be passed upon conviction.
Ms Rosher later added: “We are aware that the MP has raised the issue, but we will not be adding anything to the statement we have provided.”
Spokesman for Bluebird Care, Alex Cavell, said of the video: “This is an extremely distressing recording.
“While we cannot comment on a decision made by the CPS, it is the cornerstone of our values that any abuse – physical or mental – must not be tolerated.
“We take any allegation of poor care very seriously. In this case Bluebird Care immediately informed the relevant authorities, including police, the Care Quality Commission, West Berkshire Safeguarding Authorities and the Disclosure and Barring Service.
“Bluebird Care delivers almost 20,000 care visits a day from our 200 offices across the UK, and our number one concern is to provide high quality, safe care for our customers.
“The care worker in question is no longer employed by Bluebird Care.”
Addressing Mr Cameron in the House of Commons, Mr Benyon said: “My constituent Michael Butcher installed CCTV in his mother’s flat because she was a dementia sufferer, and he recorded on it a brutal assault on her by her carer.
“Unbelievably to me, the Crown Prosecution Service has refused to prosecute her carer, because it says it is not in the public interest.
“Does my Right Honourable Friend agree with me that we, as a society, should be totally intolerant of all attacks on vulnerable people with dementia?
Mr Cameron replied: “On the general point about whether we should be intolerant of breaches of care against elderly people, particularly those with dementia and who are reliant on others, yes, we should.
“Our dementia strategy is all about not just increasing the research into trying to tackle dementia, but about making sure that our care homes and hospitals and, indeed, communities, become more dementia-friendly.”