PERVERSION OF JUSTICE
Aided by police, ‘Nick’ destroyed lives with sex abuse lies. Now he’s been convicted of peddling a monstrous fantasy – as Labour’s deputy faces calls to quit for his part in a...
Scotland Yard was in the dock last night for launching a VIP paedophile probe based on the serial lies of a fantasist.
Carl Beech, also known as ‘Nick’, was convicted yesterday over outlandish allegations that led to a disastrous investigation in which homes were raided and lives ruined without a shred of evidence.
D-Day veteran Lord Bramall, 95, was among the victims and endured a police search and interview under caution.
Railing at the Yard’s ‘incompetence’, the field marshal said it was ridiculous that the officers involved had managed to retire without facing any disciplinary action. He added: ‘The police contributed to the perversion of justice. They didn’t go out to pervert the course of justice but the way they handled uncorroborated evidence lent more credibility to Beech’s statements than they deserved.’
Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson also faced calls to quit after meeting
Beech, 51, in his westminster office just months before he made his claims to Scotland Yard in late 2014. Mr watson, who has refused to apologise, was accused of creating a ‘moral panic’ around alleged Establishment sex abuse.
Lord Bramall’s son claimed that ex-Met chief Lord Hogan-Howe had indicated to his father that he didn’t believe he was involved in the paedophile ring before officers raided his home but police were under pressure after the Jimmy Savile scandal. The former police chief denies this.
Former Tory MP Harvey Proctor, another victim of Beech’s lies, said the bungled probe was ‘a truly disgraceful chapter in the history of British policing’.
Mr Proctor, falsely accused of being a serial child killer, demanded a ‘fully independent investigation’ into what he called a ‘rogue, malicious and apparently homophobic’ inquiry. He also demanded an apology from Mr watson.
Lincoln Seligman, godson of Ted Heath, who was also accused by Beech, said the impact of his ‘ludicrous lies’ had affected him, his family and friends of the late former prime minister very deeply.
‘what I find astonishing is that
‘Malicious and homophobic’
senior police officers in the Metropolitan Police and politicians like Tom watson, and some elements of media, believed Beech and made frequent public statements to that effect,’ he added.
‘I and my family take great comfort from this verdict which makes clear beyond doubt that Sir Edward was always innocent of these wicked accusations.’
The scandal surrounding the VIP child sex ring case deepened after the police watchdog announced that not one officer involved in the Operation Midland inquiry would face disciplinary action.
At his ten- week trial for lying about the VIP child abuse gang, jurors heard that Beech told officers that he was used as a human dart board by the former heads of MI5 and MI6, that his dog was kidnapped by a spy chief, and that the paedophile ring shot dead his horse.
The court also heard that Beech is now a convicted paedophile after child porn offences came to light when an independent police force started investigating him on suspicion of making false allegations.
Yesterday – after deliberating for under five hours – jurors at Newcastle Crown Court convicted him of 12 charges of perverting the course of justice and one count of fraud. In the wake of the verdicts:
■ Mr watson remained defiant, saying it was not his role to judge whether Beech was telling the truth;
■ Two former journalists at defunct news website Exaro, which gave prominence to Beech’s claims, faced demands to be prosecuted;
■ Scotland Yard said the phrase ‘credible and true’ to describe Beech was not discussed before it was said by a senior officer;
■ Legal sources said Beech could receive a sentence of between ten and 15 years;
■ New details emerged of how the paedophile fantasist went on the run in Sweden after being charged with child sex offences and lying about VIP child sex abuse.
Lord Hogan-Howe, who was in charge of the Met during the bungled inquiry, said the ‘investigations of claims of historical child abuse were complex and of great public interest at the time’.
He added: ‘There are clear lessons to be learned from this investigation which caused damage to those who were investigated. I also believe that damage was made worse by the publication of the suspects’ identities before charge.
‘In terms of my apology to Lord Bramall, I have a different recollection of this conversation which tried to convey why apparently incredible claims had to be investigated by the police.’
The Independent Office for Police Conduct said it had cleared three Met detectives following an investigation into how the force applied for search warrants in the case of Beech. IOPC interim director general Jonathan Green said: ‘The allegations Nick made were grave and warranted investigation.’