Police investigating the alleged abuse and murder of three children by a VIP pedophile ring in the heart of British government are split over the reliability of the inquiry’s only witness.

Scotland Yard officers are divided as to the veracity of the claims made by “Nick,” with some believing they are groundless.

Operation Midland has faced criticism for publicizing details of the investigation before it began, in contrast with similar inquiries that have been conducted under a news blackout.

The inquiry began in November last year, but has failed to find any evidence to corroborate Nick’s allegations that senior government figures abused and murdered children in the ‘70s and ‘80s.

Nick claimed the crimes took place in a flat in Dolphin Square, London, and were perpetrated by a Westminster pedophile ring, which allegedly involved the late former Prime Minister Edward Heath, other politicians and senior army figures.

Following three interviews with Nick, detectives held a press conference in which they announced his allegations were “credible and true,” a move which has since been criticized by a former senior detective.

“It could never be true until it was corroborated. It may have been credible but that doesn’t make it true,” he told the Guardian.

“In fact, the account was incredible and the murder part of the inquiry was conducted back to front, with suspects identified and interviewed before anything had been found; anything like names of victims or dates of killings.”

A former Director of Public Prosecutions warned last week that detectives should not indulge “narcissists and fantasists” in investigating allegations of historical sexual abuse.

“An understandable modern concern for victims’ rights is now in real danger of morphing into a medieval contempt for the accused and a shocking disinterest in the basic norms of justice,” he said.

“Child sex abuse is an appalling crime and we shouldn’t do anything to discourage people who have suffered it from coming forward.

“But it is the job of the police to conduct impartial, objective investigations, not to indulge narcissists and fantasists, and certainly not to hand over the right to determine the truth to people on the sole basis that they claim to be the victims of crime,” he added.

One former senior detective told the Guardian the allegations had to be investigated because otherwise offices would face questions from the Goddard Inquiry.

The multimillion pound inquiry was launched by Home Secretary Theresa May last year to investigate how the country’s institutions failed to protect children from sexual abuse.

“Every detective working on the inquiry knows they have to thoroughly investigate the allegations, because if they don’t, in two years’ time they will be called in front of the Goddard inquiry into child abuse and be asked why they didn’t do that or they didn’t do this,” he said.

“They were also in the position of knowing the alleged witness was speaking to the media.”