Image copyright Crown Prosecution Service

A man accused of making false claims of abuse and murder against a string of public figures named just two people - his stepfather and Jimmy Savile - when he first told police, a court heard.

Carl Beech, 51, said in a police interview in 2012 - which was shown to the jury at Newcastle Crown Court - that he had been abused by a "group".

But he did not name all those he later accused at that point.

He denies 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one of fraud.

Beech, who has been described in court as a "committed and manipulative" paedophile himself, claimed he witnessed three child murders and had been sexually abused by a dozen senior figures.

The allegations prompted a Metropolitan police investigation between 2014 and 2016 costing £2m that ended with no further action being taken.

Among those he accused were former Conservative prime minister Sir Edward Heath, ex-Tory home secretary Lord Brittan, one-time Conservative MP Harvey Proctor, and the former heads of MI5 and MI6.

He also named former head of the armed forces Lord Brammall and two other senior generals.

The court has heard that detectives from the Met Police, which investigated his account between 2014-2016, publicly described the claims as "credible and true".

'I don't know names'

Footage of Beech's first police interview showed him telling a detective from Wiltshire police he had been abused by a group as a schoolboy and that Savile had joined in on occasion.

Operation Yewtree - an investigation into the now-disgraced TV presenter who died in 2011 - was under way at the time and had referred Mr Beech to the Wiltshire force.

During the interview, Beech said his alleged abuse started with his stepfather, Major Raymond Beech, who has since died.

Beech said his stepfather introduced him to a "Lieutenant Colonel" in an army office, who later raped him on many occasions.

According to the footage, when asked if he knew the identity of the Lt Col, Beech responded: "I don't know names. I don't know how to describe him really."

Image copyright Carl Beech/Facebook Image caption Carl Beech's allegations sparked a £2m Scotland Yard inquiry

He said the man was "white, but not white, white but not suntanned. Just normal".

Asked how he knew Savile was one of those who allegedly abused him, Beech said: "It was his voice".

"He had a gold necklace. It's quite a long necklace," the defendant said.

He said there were about 20 people in the group, but when asked how many he could name, he replied: "Definitive names? Two then I think. I don't know the others."

When asked if there were any others he could describe, the defendant had replied: "A lot of them just blur into one really. I don't know which goes with which."

The jury has previously heard that Beech told police an "extraordinary tale" when he made the accusations of abuse against a group of powerful figures.

During his trial it has been revealed that Beech has convictions for voyeurism and making and possessing indecent images of children.

The trial continues.