Paedophile ring fantasist told to pay £24,000 to Harvey Proctor
CARL BEECH, the fantasist who lied about having been abused by a VIP paedophile ring, has been ordered to pay £24,000 to his only living victim, the former MP Harvey Proctor, a judge has ruled.
Beech – known as “Nick” during the high-profile Operation Midland police investigation – was jailed for 18 years last year for what a judge called his “cruel and callous” lies about a string of high profile figures.
On Friday, the trial judge Mr Justice Goss heard that an extensive investigation had revealed Beech had assets consisting of a dilapidated property in Sweden, £16,560 of cash in a bank account and a £1,000 watch.
The judge ruled that £23,960 – the amount he is assessed to have defrauded the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority of – should be confiscated and the cash paid to Mr
Proctor. After the hearing, Mr Proctor said: “It is full vindication.”
The former Tory MP was one of three men who had their houses raided by officers from the Metropolitan Police. Mr Proctor has described the investigation as a “truly disgraceful chapter in the history of British policing” and has already received £500,000 from the Met in compensation plus another £400,000 to cover legal costs.
In a virtual Proceeds of Crime Act hearing at Sheffield Crown Court, Peter
Ratliff, prosecuting, said that the property in Sweden was initially valued at just over £13,000, but that it was in a bad state and, once the costs of realising its value had been taken into account, the amount it would realise would be considerably less.
The judge ordered that the £23,960 sum is confiscated following Beech’s conviction for defrauding the CICA after he made a false claim.
The divorced father of one, from Gloucester, was also convicted of 12 counts of perverting the course of justice at Newcastle Crown Court last year.
The judge said Mr Proctor was the only victim of Beech named in the prosecution who is still alive.
He said: “I have considered this matter and I’m satisfied that it is appropriate to make an order for compensation in favour of Mr Harvey Proctor.”
The judge also ordered that Beech should face a further 12 months in jail if the sum is not paid within three months.