‘Reasonable grounds’ to investigate two witnesses following Operation Midland review
There are “reasonable grounds” to suspect two witnesses perverted the course of justice during an inquiry into claims of a child abuse ring involving several high-profile British citizens, West Midlands Police has said.
The pair, known as witnesses A and B, are accused of lying during Operation Midland, launched by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) in 2014 to investigate allegations of historical child abuse against senior MPs and other members of the establishment.
The false allegations were made by fantasist Carl Beech, who was later jailed for 18 years.
West Midlands Police has concluded in a review that it is in the “public interest” to investigate whether there is sufficient evidence to justify a prosecution of the two witnesses.
In 2016, former High Court judge Sir Richard Henriques was asked to carry out a review into the MPS’s handling of Operation Midland.
Sir Richard’s report recommended that “offences of attempting to pervert the course of justice be considered” in the cases of the two individuals known as witnesses A and B. He added that “it would be appropriate for another police force to carry out such investigations”.
The MPS’s 16-month investigation into “non-recent sexual offence allegations against persons of public prominence”, led to raids on the homes of several high-profile individuals, including D-Day veteran Lord Bramall, the late Lord (Leon) Brittan and former MP Harvey Proctor.
No arrests were made by the time the investigation ended in 2016, after Beech had made a series of false allegations, including the rape, torture and murder of boys in the 1970s and 1980s.
Earlier this year, following a third party referral which included new information, the MPS arranged for West Midlands Police to consider all relevant material relating to witnesses A and B to advise on whether any further investigation should follow.
The MPS said: “That work has now been completed, with West Midlands concluding that there are reasonable grounds to suspect witnesses A and B have committed an offence of perverting the course of justice and that it is in the public interest to open an investigation into whether there is sufficient evidence to justify a prosecution.
“Acknowledging that in light of its previous involvement the Met would not be the most appropriate force to carry out this investigation, officers are in the process of agreeing terms of reference with an external force so that the matter can be taken forward.”