The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
VIP paedo ring liar jailed
Carl Beech sentenced to 18 years after accusations proved false
Aformer nurse who ruined the reputations of highprofile figures by lying to detectives about the existence of a murderous VIP paedophile ring has been jailed for 18 years for his “cruel and callous” behaviour.
Carl Beech, 51, told the Metropolitan Police repeated falsehoods, making hours worth of tearful interviews in which he said he had been sadistically abused by famous faces from the worlds of politics, the armed forces and security services.
His allegations, which included claims he had been taken out of lessons
“Deliberately, repeatedly, maliciously told lies”
during the 1970s and 1980s to be abused and that he had witnessed three children murdered at the hands of the invented VIP ring, prompted the force to launch the £2 million Operation Midland inquiry, which ran from 2014 to 2016 and eventually closed without a single arrest.
Former Tory MP Harvey Proctor was one of three of the men accused by Beech, known as “Nick” during the investigation, to have their homes raided in the probe, and has since described the investigation as a “truly disgraceful chapter in the history of British policing”.
Following a twomonth trial at Newcastle Crown Court, Beech, a divorced father-of-one from Gloucester, was convicted on Monday of 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one of fraud.
Sentencing him to 18 years in prison on Friday, Mr Justice James Goss, told Beech: “Between December 2012 and March 2016 you deliberately, repeatedly and maliciously told lies to the police.
“You falsely accused a number of well-known public figures including politicians, very senior military figures and the heads of the intelligence services, many of whom had since died but some were still alive, of having been members of paedophile groups and the perpetrators.
“The distress, anger and loss caused to the individuals you accused and their families, some of whom died during the process, has been immense.”
Discussing the police, he said: “No doubt you were encouraged by their apparent willingness at that time to accept the truthfulness of your account.”
Beech, once a highachieving figure within the health services, showed no reaction as he was taken down from the dock after hearing the length of his jail term.
The judge said that, as a result of Beech’s allegations, a “dark cloud of suspicion” had hung over those he falsely accused, as well as their families.
Those he named as supposed “abusers” included former prime minister Sir Edward Heath, late Labour MP Greville Janner, disgraced TV star Jimmy Savile, and security chiefs Sir Michael Hanley and Sir Maurice Oldfield, who were the heads of MI5 and MI6 respectively.
Beech’s lengthy sentence also took into account offences of voyeurism and possessing indecent photographs, which he admitted earlier this year at Hereford Crown Court.