The man known as Nick, whose allegations sparked the VIP sex abuse scandal, was last night charged with inventing the claims and then fraudulently claiming £22,000 in compensation claims.

The 50-year-old - whose true identity can still not be revealed for legal reasons - will appear in court in September, after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) charged him with 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one count of fraud.

Prosecutors also allege that Nick created a fake witness called 'Fred' and sent police emails from a false account in an attempt to corroborate his claims.

Nick had told detectives he had been raped and abused in the 1970s and 1980s by a number of powerful men, including the former Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath; the former head of the Army, Lord Bramall; the former Home Secretary, Lord Brittan; former Tory MP, Harvey Proctor and the former Labour MP, Lord Janner.

He even claimed that some members of the group had murdered three boys during sex games.