Tom Watson put pressure on Metropolitan Police officers who had an "unwarranted and disproportionate" belief in the fantasist behind claims of a VIP paedophile ring, a damning report has found.

Former High Court judge Sir Richard Henriques carried out a review of Operation Midland, the disastrous £2.5m investigation into Carl Beech's allegations which ended after 16 months without a single arrest.

Beech, who was known as "Nick" before his identity was revealed, was jailed for 18 years in July after being found guilty of 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one of fraud.

Image: Carl Beech was jailed for 18 years in July

In a 391-page report published on Friday, Sir Richard said the main cause of Operation Midland's failure was the Met Police's "poor judgement and a failure to accurately evaluate known facts," while a "major contributing factor was the culture that 'victims' must be believed".

He also said "there can be no doubt" that Mr Watson, Labour's deputy leader, "believed 'Nick'" and created "further pressure" upon Met Police officers.


In response, Mr Watson - who had raised the issue of an alleged VIP paedophile ring in parliament - said Sir Richard's review contained "multiple inaccuracies" about him.

Sir Richard accused officers of misleading a judge into granting warrants to search the homes of those wrongly accused of rape and torture by Beech.

Image: Tom Watson said the report contained 'multiple inaccuracies' about him

He found that warrants to search the properties of D-Day veteran Lord Bramall, the widow of former home secretary Leon Brittan and former Tory MP Harvey Proctor were "obtained unlawfully".

Sir Richard said: "Whilst the responsible officers assert that they kept an open mind, several failures can only be explained by an unwarranted and disproportionate belief in 'Nick's' credibility."

Sir Richard added that "the most significant error in this investigation was the decision to apply for search warrants coupled with formulating inaccurate statements which were placed before the district judge".

"But for that decision, this investigation may well have been completed without the dreadful adverse consequences I have described," he said.

Image: (L-R) Ex-Tory MP Harvey Proctor, Lord Bramall and late ex-home secretary Lord Brittan were accused by Beech

Sir Richard voiced concerns that five "experienced and highly regarded" officers had expressed the view that Beech had been consistent "when he was so demonstrably not so".

He said one possibility was that the officers had not "read or sufficiently" read Beech's previous interviews with Wiltshire Police as they sought search warrants.

Sir Richard added: "As matters stand I have no doubt that the district judge was misled, and, had he known the true position, he would not have granted the applications.

"The gravity of a judge being misled in such circumstances cannot be overstated."

Image: Beech pictured during his police interviews

Five officers were referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct but the watchdog found no evidence of wrongdoing or criminality.

Sky's crime correspondent Martin Brunt said it was a "dark day for Scotland Yard" following the release of the "damning" report.

The officer in charge of Operation Midland, Steve Rodhouse, apologised for the "distress" caused, saying the report shows there are "clearly lessons to be learned for future investigations".

Meanwhile, the Met's deputy commissioner Sir Stephen House acknowledged "mistakes were made in Operation Midland", but added: "We do not agree with everything Sir Richard wrote in his report or indeed all of his recent statements regarding further investigations into the actions of officers."

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The prime minister's official spokesman said the case was "deeply concerning" and it was vital the public were reassured that the Met Police have learnt lessons from the review.

In a statement, Mr Watson said Sir Richard's review did not make clear letters from him were received by police after they had already interviewed Lord Brittan.

He said it "cannot be argued that it was pressure from me that led to Lord Brittan being interviewed".

Mr Watson added: "I have always said that it wasn't my place to judge whether sexual abuse allegations were true or false - that was for the police."

Ahead of Sir Richard's report, Mr Proctor called for Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick to "consider her position".

Image: Cressida Dick is facing calls to 'consider her position'

Home Secretary Priti Patel has written to the Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Sir Tom Winsor, asking him to review the actions of the Met Police over Operation Midland.

But the son of the late Labour MP Lord Janner, who was accused by Beech, has called for a judge-led inquiry, saying referring the force to a police watchdog is "wholly inadequate".

Daniel Janner also accused Mr Watson of being "partially responsible", claiming he "applied pressure on the police and should hang his head in shame and resign".

Before the report was published, the barrister leading the government's child sex abuse inquiry claimed he warned Scotland Yard of the "bogus" allegations months before officers shut down the investigation.

Ben Emmerson QC, lead counsel to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, said he interviewed Beech in 2015 and claims to have told senior police officers in September that year not to believe his claims.