A friend of Lord Bramall said: “This doesn’t surprise anybody. Lord Bramall always thought they would bury it in the middle of the American election. And that is exactly what they are doing.”

Daniel Janner QC, whose father Lord Janner was also falsely accused by the fantasist, known only as ‘Nick’ of being a member of the VIP paedophile ring, said: “My family have been waiting for this report for months.

“It is absolutely disgusting that it is deliberately being released when the eyes of the country will be focused on the presidential election.

"The police must be held to account for the way they treated elderly and seriously ill people.”