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Fantasist behind VIP
sex-abuse ring given
£180,000 in legal aid
By Gabriella Swerling
Social affairS Editor
THE FANTASIST who made false
claims about a VIP paedophile ring has
received almost £180,000 in legal aid,
figures reveal, as officials admit that the
total sum could continue to rise.
Carl Beech, 51, was found guilty last
month of 12 charges of perverting the
course of justice and one of fraud at
Newcastle Crown Court last month.
He was jailed for 18 years and has
since lodged an appeal.
The serial liar who fabricated “cruel
and callous” lies of an establishment
paedophile ring as well as a string of lu-
rid claims that high-ranking officials
tortured, abused and murdered chil-
dren, prompted a £2.5 million Metro-
politan Police inquiry.
However, it can now be reported
that the fantasist has also been granted
almost £180,000 in legal aid.
Figures released under the Freedom
of Information Act revealed the amount
of money that Beech was granted in or-
der to clear his name.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures,
obtained by the Sunday Sun, the re-
gional Sunday paper on sale in north-
east England, reveal that the former
NHS manager was granted £178,479 for
barrister fees during his Newcastle
Crown Court trial, as well as over
£1,400 in legal aid solely for legal rep-
resentation at a police station.
That sum included over £470 in so-
licitor’s fees for a police interview in
which Beech – described as a “commit-
ted and manipulative paedophile” –
blamed his own son for downloading
indecent images.
The MoJ admitted that the figures
could continue to rise. “As these mat-
ters have only very recently concluded,
the billing process has not yet com-
pleted,” a spokesman for the govern-
ment department said.
“Claims for payment are made in ar-
rears once a trial has been finalised.”
Beech’s allegations resulted in raids
on the homes of Field Marshal Lord
Bramall, the widow of Lord Brittan,
and Harvey Proctor, the former Con-
servative MP.
He also made allegations against Sir
Edward Heath, the former prime min-
ister, Leon Brittan, the ex-home secre-
tary, Sir Michael Hanley, the former
MI5 chief, and the late Labour MP Lord
Janner, among others.
All of his claims were later accepted
as completely false.
Beech was sentenced to 15 years in
prison for perverting the course of jus-
tice and a further 18 months for fraud
after he claimed compensation for be-
ing an alleged victim of a crime.
He was given an additional 18
months after pleading guilty at an ear-
lier court hearing to paedophile
charges that included making inde-
cent photographs of children and a
charge of voyeurism.
The Met claims to have spent
£2.5 million investigating Beech’s al-
legations before the case collapsed in- The force opened its investiga-
tion into the claims, known as Opera-
tion Midland, in 2014 and declared
that Beech’s claims of murder, rape
and torture by public figures were
“credible and true”.
Beech was formerly known as
“Nick” – an alias given to him to pro-
tect his identity while his claims were
investigated.
‘Claims for
payment aremade in
arrears once
a trial hasbeen
finalised’Ministry of Justice admits
‘the billing process’ for the
legal costs of serial liar Carl
Beech is not yet finished
Carl Beech, who
made a string of
false allegations
against public
figures, was jailed
last monthMet Police will not
investigate Epstein
By Gabriella Swerling
SCOTLAND YARD has de-
clared it “revisited” the deci-
sion not to pursue a criminal
investigation into disgraced
financier Jeffrey Epstein, but
said its initial decision was
“entirely appropriate”.
The disclosure comes in
the wake of an unprece-
dented statement issued by
Prince Andrew regarding his
association with the paedo-
phile, of whom he said he did
not “see, witness or suspect
any behaviour of the sort
that subsequently led to his
arrest and conviction”.
The Duke of York has
come under intense scrutiny
regarding his friendship
with Epstein, the billionaire
tycoon, who took his own
life in a New York prison cell
earlier this month while
waiting to stand trial for al-
leged sex trafficking.
After Buckingham Palace
released a brief statement
earlier this week, the Duke
of York released his own
comments, adding that he
“would not condone, partici-
pate in, or encourage any
such behaviour” linked to
the allegations surrounding
Epstein.
It was reported over the
weekend that the prince
could be summoned to Paris
to assist French prosecutors
in their investigation into
sexual abuse and rape by Ep-
stein.
The American business-
man owned an apartment –
which featured photographs
of naked women on the walls- in the French capital.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre,
who was photographed aged
17 with Prince Andrew’s arm
around her waist, claimed in
2015 that she had been re-
cruited as a “sex slave” by
Epstein and forced to have
sex with the prince in Lon-
don, New York and on the fi-
nancier’s private atoll in the
US Virgin Islands.
However, despite possible
information sharing between
US and French authorities,
the Metropolitan Police con-
firmed yesterday that it
stands by its original decision
and will not investigate Ep-
stein’s links to alleged crimes
committed in the UK capital.
Following the publication
of the Duke of York’s per-
sonal statement, a Metropol-
itan Police spokesman said:
“We acknowledge the con-
siderable interest and con-
cern around this case and
have revisited that decision-
making and believe it re-
mains entirely appropriate.
Therefore no further action
is being taken.”Charity boss quits abuse
inquiry after sex exposé
A CHILD abuse victim who
founded a leading charity for
survivors has resigned from
a Government inquiry after
it emerged he had a sexual
encounter with a fellow vic-
tim in a restaurant lavatory.
Peter Saunders, 61, of the
National Association for Peo-
ple Abused in Childhood
(NAPAC), was arrested fol-
lowing an encounter in 2008
that he claimed was consen-
sual but which the victim re-
ported to the police as rape.
He vehemently denied the
charge.
The Crown Prosecution
Service decided not to pro-
ceed with the case, citing in-
sufficient evidence. Mr
Saunders was not charged
with any offence, but later
said he was “deeply sorry”
and would carry the shame
for the rest of his life.
As a result, he resigned
from his post on the Victims
and Survivors Panel of the
Independent Inquiry into
Childhood Sexual Abuse
(IICSA). An IICSA spokes-
man said he had failed to de-
clare the incident when he
joined in 2015.
The Mail on Sunday re-
ported that Mr Saunders had
a sexual encounter with the
woman, who as a child was
abused and cannot be named
for legal reasons, following
an alcohol-fuelled lunch paid
for on the charity’s credit
card. He had arranged to
meet her to discuss working
for NAPAC.
Mr Saunders, who was
himself sexually abused as a
child, said: “The incident
was not as she alleged. It was
a totally consensual, albeit
drunken, encounter.”The Duke of
York has come
under scrutiny
over his
friendship
with EpsteinThe Daily Telegraph Monday 26 August 2019 *** 11
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