Scotland Yard detectives subjected the former head of the British Army to a humiliating interrogation, accusing him of raping a child, just days after his wife of 64-years had died, it has emerged.

Field Marshal Lord Bramall, who was 91 at the time, but is now 95, was questioned twice by police in connection with allegations that he was part of a VIP paedophile ring that had abused, tortured and even murdered boys in the 1970s and 1980s.

The claims were made by Carl Beech, who had the pseudonym, Nick, and who is now facing 12 charges of perverting the course of justice and one of fraud.

The second interview, during which he was accused of appalling abuse, took place on 31 July 2015, just nine days after his wife, Dorothy, had died following a long battle with dementia.

During the exchange, Lord Bramall, who is now 95, pleaded with the police to clear his name swiftly in order to stop the damage that was being done to his reputation.