‘Nick’ told Tom Watson about VIP sex-ring claims, jury hears

THE man who sparked a £2 million police investigation after claiming he had been raped and tortured by highprofile public figures, including several Tory grandees, described Tom Watson, the Labour MP, as one of the “little group supporting me”, a court heard yesterday. Carl Beech, 51, who was given the pseudonym “Nick” and is accused of making false allegations against men including Sir Edward Heath, Lord Brittan and Harvey Proctor, told detectives that Mr Watson was helping him “put his information out there”. The former nurse also told police how an investigative journalist had shown him 42 pictures of potential paedophiles, which had helped him “fill in the blanks” when compiling his list of abusers.

Mark Conrad, of the Exaro investigative website, showed him the pictures before publishing a story about the alleged abuse. After the story came to light, Mr Beech went for a lengthy meeting with Mr Watson in his Westminster office, a jury at Newcastle Crown Court was told.

Scotland Yard launched Operation Midland to investigate the allegations, but after 18 months the inquiry was closed without a single arrest having been made and Mr Beech was subsequently charged with 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one count of fraud.

In an interview with Det Sgt James Townly in October 2014, Mr Beech described Mr Watson and Peter Mckelvie, a retired social worker, as part of the small group who were helping him. He told the Scotland Yard officer: “I went to meet Tom Watson in his office and talked to him at some length when they put that bit out there.

“It has been a positive experience for me on the one hand and on the other it has been incredibly frustrating.”

Mr Beech denies perverting the course of justice and fraud and the trial, expected to last 12 weeks, continues.