A man who sparked an investigation into an alleged Westminster paedophile ring is to be charged with perverting the course of justice.

The 50-year-old man, known only as Nick due to legal reasons, will be charged with 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one count of fraud, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

He made a series of bombshell allegations in 2014 as he claimed he had been abused for nine years as a child by a VIP gang during the 1970s and '80s based in Dolphin Square, a development in Pimlico, west London and elsewhere.

His claims sparked a £2.5m Metropolitan Police investigation, Operation Midland.

Officers raided the homes of prominent figures including Lord Bramall, the late former home secretary Lord Brittan, the late former prime minister Ted Heath and ex-Tory MP Harvey Proctor.


It was closed without a single arrest.

Image: (L-R) Lord Bramall and Lord Brittan were accused of being part of a paedophile ring

Frank Ferguson, CPS head of special crime, said: "The CPS has considered a file of evidence from Northumbria Police relating to allegations of perverting the course of justice and fraud by a 50-year-old man.

"The police investigation provided evidence that the man had made a number of false allegations alleging multiple homicides and sexual abuse said to have been carried out in the 1970s and 1980s.

"Following careful consideration, we have concluded there is sufficient evidence to bring a number of criminal charges.

"He has today been charged with 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one count of fraud and will appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court in due course."

The charges follow claims including allegations of child murder, rape and torture by senior figures in politics, the army and security services.

He is also charged with falsely claiming £22,000 from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority for saying "he was subjected to abuse by a paedophile ring, knowing this to be untrue and intending thereby to make a gain for himself", the CPS said.

Image: Former Tory prime minister Edward Heath was also accused

Labour peer and former MP Lord Janner died in 2015 before his name was cleared.

His son, Daniel Janner QC, had vowed to bring a private prosecution if the CPS did not pursue the charges.

After hearing the CPS was charging Nick, he said he would now "happily" drop those plans.

Lord Bramall received an apology from former Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe in 2016, a year after a dawn raid on his Hampshire home, four months before his wife, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, died.

Mr Procter, 71, called for an independent inquiry into Operation Midland in 2016 and later that year Mr Hogan-Howe apologised for their mistakes, but Mr Procter sued the Met Police last year.