The man who sparked Scotland Yard’s £2 million VIP sex abuse inquiry after claiming to have been raped and tortured by a group of prominent public figures is a convicted paedophile himself, it can now be revealed.

Carl Beech, 51, who was known as Nick throughout the Operation Midland investigation, was convicted of making and possessing indecent images of young boys and of voyeurism earlier this year.

On the second day of his trial for perverting the course of justice and fraud at Newcastle Crown Court, the jury was told that Northumbria police had found the child porn images on various devices when they were investigating him on suspicion of lying about his own abuse.

Tony Badenoch QC, prosecuting, described Mr Beech as a "committed and manipulative paedophile", and said he had even tried to blame his own teenage son when he was confronted with the evidence.

On Tuesday, the court heard how Mr Beech had gone to Scotland Yard in 2014 claiming to have been sadistically sexually abused by a group of powerful public figures including, Sir Edward Heath, the former prime minister, Lord Brittan, the former home secretary, Field Marshal Lord Bramall and Harvey Proctor, the former Tory MP.