News website gave ‘Nick’ a platform for his lurid accusations
‘NICK’ and his sordid claims were paraded by the BBC and the since-discredited news website Exaro. They gave him a platform to accuse innocent Establishment figures of horrendous child abuse.
His stories formed the basis of reports by the BBC that a paedophile ring operated at the heart of the Westminster.
His claims were given credence by police and by Labour MP Tom Watson, who trumpeted allegations of a VIP paedophile ring in Parliament.
In November 2014, Nick gave an interview to BBC News
about the Westminster VIPs he said had abused him.
‘A group of men, very powerful people, and they controlled my life for the next nine years. They created fear that penetrated every part of me,’ he said.
Investigative website Exaro, run by journalist Mark Watts, published numerous articles based on his claims. But Nick’s story evolved over time – and it later became clear he had previously presented himself as a Jimmy Savile victim under a different name.
The Sunday Times discovered the accuser had appeared on an obscure satellite TV station in August 2014 to say he was a victim of the late paedophile DJ. Interviewed in silhouette, he made no mention of Westminster VIPs.
Three months after its broadcast, he was telling the BBC lurid tales of paedophile rape and murder in Westminster, this time as Nick. The early BBC News and Exaro reports were later pulled apart by BBC Panorama, which established that at least one of the murders Nick claims to have witnessed – the only one about which he has provided detailed information – could not have taken place.
The ‘victim’ was a schoolfriend – and none had died.