Yard pays out for VIP raids

THE Metropolitan Police has paid £100,000 in compensation to Lord Bramall and Lady Brittan after raiding their homes during its disastrous Operation Midland child sex abuse investigation.

Lawyers for Scotland Yard agreed the settlements – which include gagging clauses – after accepting that the searches had been unjustified and should never have taken place.

But the Met is yet to agree any compensation deal with Harvey Proctor, 70, the former Tory MP, who was falsely accused of rape and murder and lost his home and his job as a result.

It is thought Mr Proctor, who received a personal apology from Sir Bernard Hogan-howe, then the Met commissioner, is seeking more than £500,000 for loss of earnings and damage to his reputation.

Representatives for both Lord Bramall and Lady Brittan refused to discuss any payout, but a source said the terms of the settlement required all

parties to keep the details confidential. Operation Midland began in November 2014 after a man, known as Nick, claimed to have been raped and abused by VIPS in the Seventies and Eighties.

Among those he named were Lord Bramall, a D-day veteran and former head of the Army, Lord Brittan, the former home secretary, and Sir Edward Heath, the late former prime minister.

Despite a lack of evidence, Scotland Yard launched an 18-month investigation costing in excess of £2.5million. Police raided Lord Bramall’s home at a time when his wife, who has since passed away, was suffering from dementia. They also searched the home of Lady Brittan, despite the fact that her husband was already dead.

The inquiry was closed in March 2016 without a single arrest, and Nick is now being investigated on suspicion of perverting the course of justice and fraud.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “The Met has reached settlement with both Lady Brittan and Lord Bramall.”