The man known as “Nick”, who was the source of stories about an alleged VIP Westminster paedophile ring which led to a failed police probe, fled to Sweden when his allegations proven false, a court has heard.
Carl Beech, a 51-year-old father from Gloucester, is on trial at Newcastle Crown Court (pictured) where he denies 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one count of fraud.
He claimed to have witnessed child murders and to have been sexually abused by the sex ring.
Tony Badenoch QC, prosecuting, said Beech’s accusations against powerful figures in the military, politicians and Jimmy Savile were among the “most heinous” that could be made.
Related
Addressing the jury, Badenoch said the claims were initially made to Wiltshire Police and the Metropolitan Police, leading to the £2m Operation Midland. Elderly suspects such as Lord Brittan, former head of the army Lord Bramall and former MP Harvey Proctor had their homes raided.
When that inquiry was ultimately stopped, Northumbria Police was tasked to look into Beech and his three-bedroom rented property, with his £30,000 Ford Mustang convertible parked outside, was raided.
Badenoch said: “Upon their investigation, in Northumbria, a number of important claims made by Carl Beech when he made the allegations were found to be provably false.
Content from our partners
“He had lied about the content of these allegations, taken active steps to embellish a false story, and then cover his tracks when challenged.
“He made no response when asked to account for this by Northumbria Police and, ultimately, he took the only option that was really available to him, he fled the country and lived overseas as a fugitive.
“That was until a specialist fugitive unit in Sweden worked closely with Northumbria Police and the National Crime Agency to secure his arrest on a European Arrest Warrant executed overseas.
“He was then extradited back to face these charges.”
The court heard Beech had claimed over the course of a number of months and years that he had witnessed “three child murders, multiple rapes, kidnapping, false imprisonment, and widespread sexual abuse”.
He added that the allegations all concerned young boys, saying: “It is quite impossible to conceive of allegations of a worse kind to be made.”
The prosecution described it as an “extraordinary tale”.
In his 40s, Beech claimed that as a schoolboy he had seen “literally dozens” of powerful men in a paedophile ring at locations ranging four counties, the south coast of England, and all over London, and he was taken out of school one day a week for this to happen.
Badenoch told jurors that a Metropolitan Police officer had at the time described the allegations as “credible and true”, and said the force launched Operation Midland as a result in November 2014.
Beech was given anonymity as a complainant of sexual abuse, and was therefore given the pseudonym “Nick”.
He said that Lord Brittan had died after his own home was searched and while the investigation into Beech’s claims were still active.
Jurors were told Proctor will give evidence in the trial and “will answer the false allegations levelled at him by Carl Beech, namely, that he is a sadistic abuser of young boys and a murderer”.
Badenoch said that the three men had all suffered “immeasurable distress” and “reputational damage”, telling how Lord Bramall’s wife had died “whilst the file was still open”.
Picture: Google Street View
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
