Page 28 QQQ Daily Mail, Friday, August 16, 2019
years for making false allegations
of abuse and murder involving
public figures.
Now it has emerged that detec-
tives are investigating whether
Esther Baker, 36, misled police
who originally investigated her
own story of organised abuse
involving politicians.
Four years ago, she won the cru-
cial backing of Mr Watson over her
hotly-contested allegations. He
said in May 2015: ‘Esther has made
very serious allegations. They con-
cern a politician who is in the pub-
lic eye today and is therefore dif-
ferent to allegations from previous
eras. I hope the police will resource
a comprehensive investigation.’
Former Liberal Democrat MP
John Hemming, one of those she
accused, called for her to be inves-
tigated for perverting the course
of justice after he was cleared of
her claims.
Staffordshire Police, which spent
more than a year investigating
Miss Baker’s unsubstantiated
allegations in 2015 and 2016, saidits current inquiry was ongoing. In
a statement, it said: ‘Following a
complaint made to officers, the
matter is being investigated and
the file is with Staffordshire
Police’s head of crime for review
and consideration of next steps.’
The complaint was made by Mr
Hemming, who was interviewed
under caution by officers in 2015.
In 2017 the Crown Prosecution
Service dropped its case as it failed
to meet the required level of evi-
dence. In 2015, Miss Baker waivedher legal right to anonymity dur-
ing media interviews. Her case was
mentioned in the Commons.
She claimed she was taken with
other children to woodland in Can-
nock Chase, Staffordshire, to be
raped, and alleged uniformed police
officers were sometimes present.
This week Miss Baker remained
defiant, saying the ‘next steps’
mentioned by Staffordshire Police
‘have apparently not yet got to
the stage of even interviewing me
about [perverting the course ofjustice] after four years of [Mr
Hemming] alleging it’.
She said officers ‘have had full
access to all of my computers,
devices and anything they want –
plus 150-ish hours of interviews’.
Miss Baker said: ‘If there was
something to find I’m sure they’d
have found it by now.’
Last night Mr Watson declined
to say whether he ever met Miss
Baker, and if so on how many occa-
sions and in what circumstances.
Nor would he comment on whether
she had provided him with any
evidence to support her claims.
His spokesman said: ‘When alle-
gations of historic child sexual
abuse are made it is only right that
they are investigated by the police.
‘After Tom Watson spoke out
about child abuse many people
contacted him with allegations.
He was always clear it was not his
role to judge whether allegations
were true, that was for the police.’TOM Watson is facing fresh
embarrassment after police con-
firmed that they are investigat-
ing a woman over allegations
that she lied about being a vic-
tim of VIP child sex abuse.
Last month the Labour deputy
leader faced calls to quit over his
dealings with the fantasist known as
‘Nick’, whom he met in his Westmin-
ster office months before he made
his outlandish claims to Scotland
Yard in late 2014.
After ‘Nick’, real name Carl Beech,
was convicted of perverting the course
of justice and fraud, the MP was
accused of fuelling a ‘moral panic’ and a
climate of Establishment hysteria over
child sex abuse. Beech was jailed for 18
By Stephen Wright
Associate News Editor
Allegations: Esther Baker Cleared: John Hemming Questions: Tom WatsonNew shame for Watson as
2nd VIP accuser is probed
Labour boss told:
Quit as MP for
your smearing
of the innocent
From the Mail, July 23