Bungling Scotland Yard detectives failed to interview a string of key witnesses before launching raids on the homes of people falsely accused of abuse by the fantasist and paedophile Carl Beech, the Telegraph can reveal.

There are growing calls for the officers in charge of the searches to be investigated for perverting the course of justice, amid allegations they knowingly misled a district judge in order to obtain the warrants.

But it can also be revealed that the highly intrusive and upsetting raids took place months before the police bothered to speak to important witnesses whose evidence could have quickly disproved Beech's claims.

The revelation will heap further pressure on the Government to order a root and branch inquiry into the Met's handling of the entire Operation Midland debacle.

In October 2014, Beech, a former nurse and NHS manager, told the Metropolitan Police he had been raped and tortured as a child by a group of powerful men, including politicians, members of the military and the heads of the intelligence agencies.

Among those who were accused were Lord Bramall, D-Day veteran and former head of the army, Lord Brittan, the former Home Secretary and Harvey Proctor, the former Tory MP, who had been working as private secretary to the Duke of Rutland.