A barrister who led the Government’s independent child sex abuse inquiry has claimed he warned the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) the claims made by Carl Beech about a VIP paedophile ring in Westminster were “bogus” four years ago.
Scotland Yard shut down Operation Midland, which looked into Beech’s claims and cost in the region of £4.5m, in 2016 after 16 months – without a single arrest.
Beech, referred to as “Nick” during the investigation, is serving an 18-year jail term for fabricating a series of claims of rape, torture and murder by innocent politicians and well-known figures from the military and security service.
Ben Emmerson QC, who interviewed Beech in 2015, said he told senior police officers on 30 September that year not to believe him.
“I was extremely sceptical about the allegations made by Carl Beech from the very outset,” Mr Emerson wrote in a comment piece for The Daily Telegraph.
‘Outlandish fabrication’
“They had a ring of outlandish fabrication about them. I was concerned to try to understand why the Metropolitan Police had publicly described them as ‘credible’ when they appeared at face value to be so obviously bogus.”
He suggested that officers ignored his advice to search Beech’s communications and computers, which Mr Emmerson was sure would have exposed his stories as “fabrication much earlier”.
“The Operation Midland officers told me that they had received legal advice to the effect that since Beech was being treated as a credible complainant, he could not be treated as a suspect,” he wrote.
Mr Emmerson’s revelation comes as the Home Secretary Priti Patel has asked a police watchdog to investigate Operation Midland.
She wrote to the Chief Inspector of Constabulary Tom Winsor, part of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), asking him to examine the bungled inquiry.
Critical report details to be released
On Friday the force is set to publish more of an already heavily critical report into the same investigation.
The Met will release parts of a review by former High Court judge Sir Richard Henriques, who was called in after Operation Midland ended.
The investigation saw the homes of D-Day veteran Lord Bramall; Lady Diana Brittan, the widow of former home secretary Leon Brittan; and former Tory MP Harvey Proctor raided on the basis of false claims made by Beech.
Daniel Janner, the son of the late Labour MP Lord Janner who was one of Beech‘s victims, called for a judge-led inquiry, saying referring the force to HMICFRS was “wholly inadequate”.
Ms Patel wrote in her letter: “It is imperative that the public receive assurance that the MPS has learned from the mistakes identified in Sir Richard’s report and have made – and continue to make – necessary improvements.
“To this end I am writing to you to request, under the provisions in s54 of the Police Act 1996, that Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) undertake an inspection at the earliest practicable opportunity to follow up on Sir Richard’s review.”
In details previously released from Sir Richard’s report, he criticised the police for believing Beech for so long. The review also revealed that one officer said Beech’s claims were “credible and true”.
The Met Police has had to give payouts to the Brittan family and Lord Bramall. Mr Proctor is suing the force for £1m and a settlement has yet to be reached.
Additional reporting by PA
