Scotland Yard was warned by the QC leading the Government's child sex abuse inquiry that the fantasist 'Nick' was "bogus" months before officers shut down the investigation, the Telegraph can reveal.

Ben Emmerson QC, interviewed Carl Beech in 2015 and told senior police officers not to believe his claims that he had been raped and tortured as a child by a string of high profile politicians and public figures.

He even provided legal advice to the investigative team as to how they might expose his lies, but his suggestion was ignored and detectives continued to plough on with the £2.5 million probe.

But it was not until the March 2016 that the investigation was finally closed by which stage the lives and reputations of more than a dozen men had been tarnished.

On Friday, the Met will publish Sir Richard Henriques's review of Operation Midland, in which he lambasts the Force for failing to heed Mr Emmerson's advice and shut down Operation Midland at an earlier stage.

In a damning indictment on what has become one of the most shameful episodes in Scotland Yard's recent history, the retired High Court Judge will say it should have been clear to the officers from the outset that Beech's allegations were "fabricated, incredible and untrue".