Mary Nevin with her boyfriend, Paul Davis

Paul Davis: "Communication is slow but sure" Dur: 35"

Lord Chancellor Urged to Review MS Case

Mary Nevin, who has MS, alleged she was indecently assaulted by a care assistant at a nursing home in Moseley.

She is unable to speak, and has great difficulty moving her limbs. But she would have been happy to give evidence using an alphabet board - a slow but effective method of conversing, according to her family.

The police took statements, and a prosecution was brought. However, the case was thrown out by the judge, Mr Justice Stanley, because he said Miss Nevin could not be cross-examined properly.

The alphabet board Mary Nevin uses to speak to her family

Her boyfriend, Paul Davis, said she was now afraid to be left alone with other people: "Does this mean disabled people have no rights anymore? If someone is raped there would be nothing they could do about it."

According to the Home Office, a review is underway into vulnerable witnesses. But the Lord Chancellor's Office plans no action in this case, since the judge has already made his decision.

The Multiple Sclerosis Society says the way Mary Nevin's case was treated in court is outrageous and worrying.

Peter Cardy: "People with MS have a right to justice" Dur: 46"

Peter Cardy from the Society said: "I would like to see the Lord Chancellor re-open this case and take urgent steps to see that people with speech difficulties are not prevented from giving evidence in other cases that concern us all."