'Fantasist known as Nick' claimed ex-MP Harvey Proctor was violent

A man on trial accused of falsely claiming a ring of high-ranking paedophiles abused him in the 1970s claims former Prime Minister Edward Heath had to step in to stop an MP seriously harming him, a court heard.

Carl Beech, 51, who was known as 'Nick', told the Met Police ex-Basildon and Billericay MP Harvey Proctor wanted to 'cut his genitals' with a knife and liked to 'strangle' him while forcing him to perform sex acts.

He also claimed the late former home secretary Lord Brittan was 'sadistic' and said the politician would 'hold his head underwater' while abusing him. 

Beech made the claims in an interview with police in 2014 that sparked the £2million Operation Midland investigation that lasted 18-months but ended with no arrests. 

He is now on trial at Newcastle Crown Court where jurors heard his claims were 'extraordinary,' 'heinous,' 'incredible,' and 'untrue.'

Beech made the claim a few minutes after telling a police officer his dog had been kidnapped in a plot orchestrated by the former head of MI5. 

Carl Beech, 51, known as 'Nick', is on trial accused of falsely claiming he was abused by a VIP paedohpile ring. He is pictured being interviewed by the Met Police in October 14 and his 'evidence' sparked a £2million investigation that ended in no arrests

Carl Beech, 51, known as 'Nick', is on trial accused of falsely claiming he was abused by a VIP paedohpile ring. He is pictured being interviewed by the Met Police in October 14 and his 'evidence' sparked a £2million investigation that ended in no arrests

Beech accused former Tory MP Harvey Proctor, 72, pictured, of violent sexual assault and claimed he threatened to 'cut his genitals with a knife'. Mr Proctor is said to 'still be enraged' by the claims

Beech accused former Tory MP Harvey Proctor, 72, pictured, of violent sexual assault and claimed he threatened to 'cut his genitals with a knife'. Mr Proctor is said to 'still be enraged' by the claims

Beech said former prime minister Edward Heath, left, stopped Mr Proctor from 'seriously harming him'

Beech, pictured at a previous court hearing, accused Proctor of strangling him while forcing him to perform sex acts in his 'evidence' to the Met Police

Beech, pictured right at a previous court hearing, told the Met Police Mr Proctor was only stopped from seriously harming him by former prime minister Edward Heath, left

The interview in October 2014 was filmed with some clips shown to the jury today.

Beech told Detective Sergeant James Townly that Harvey Proctor, now 72, was the most violent of the abusers he called 'The Group.'

He said: 'He had a little pen-knife, he wanted to cut my genitals, he was stopped by one of the others.

'He was not happy, he was so angry, he did not like being told what to do.and he gave me that knife as he left.

'He put it in my trousers and said: 'Next time you will not be so lucky'.'

Detective Sergeant Townly asked him: 'Who is he?'

Beech answered in a low voice: 'Harvey. Harvey Proctor.'

DS Townly asked: 'Who stopped him?'

Beech also claimed the late Lord Brittan, a former home secretary, was 'sadistic' and 'raped him while holding his head underwater in a pool'. Beech's claims were subsequently branded 'totally unfounded' by a Northumbria Police probe

Beech also claimed the late Lord Brittan, a former home secretary, was 'sadistic' and 'raped him while holding his head underwater in a pool'. Beech's claims were subsequently branded 'totally unfounded' by a Northumbria Police probe

Beech said: 'One of the others, it was not the only time he was stopped.'

The 51-year-old also alleged Proctor forced him to perform sex acts while being violent.

He said: 'He was not like the others, it was fun for him to choke you so you just couldn't breathe.

'Strangle. He just liked to strangle, he liked to hit. Anything that caused additional pain, physical pain.

'He liked knives. He was probably one of the youngest of The Group but he did not like being told what to do.'

He was asked again who told him [Proctor] what to do and Beech replied: 'The only one person I remember was Edward, just him. Harvey wanted to do more and Edward would not let him.'

DS Townly asked: 'Who is Edward?'

Beech replied: 'Edward Heath. He told him and he did not question that but I saw what harm he was capable of, I was on his hit list and he did not like me at all.'

Detective Sergeant Townly asked him to tell him more about Proctor but an emotional Beech began to break down and replied: 'I can't, I just can't.'

The accusation was part of a raft of allegations by Beech, from Gloucester, which were later described by a senior officer with The Met as 'credible and true.'

It followed minutes after Beech had claimed his beloved pet dog Heron disappeared for five days when he was 13 and that he was later approached by a man named 'Michael' to tell him the dog had been taken 'as a warning'.

'Michael' was later identified by Beech as Michael Hanley, the former head of MI5, who he claimed was another member of 'The Group'. 

He said Heron, whom he described as his only childhood friend, went missing while being walked by Beech's mother in Bushy Park, near Hampton Court, while he was living in Kingston upon Thames.

Carl Beech aged 10

Carl Beech aged 10

The jury were previously shown pictures of Carl Beech aged around 10 in his final year of primary school when he claimed the abuse began

Beech said: 'She just vanished, she told me she was gone and I was absolutely devastated. We went out looking for her and couldn't find her.

'Mum had to force me back home because I would not leave.

'I had to find her and not a sign, not a sign. The next day, or a day after, Michael collared me outside of school and he did not have her in the car but he said he had heron, my dog.

'They took her as a warning because I was not to forget. They took her for five days and let her go, I remember I had to go to pick her up from a police station at Surbiton I think it was.

'It was because I had forgotten to be somewhere, to be picked up. It was not like me to forget.

'That is why it happened, How did they do that? How did they know where she was out being walked. That is what they are capable of.'

Timeline of Beech's alleged falsehoods and the investigations they launched

2014/2015: Over more than 20 hours of recorded police interviews, Carl Beech makes lurid allegations of child rape and murder against senior Establishment figures including Ted Heath and Lord Brammall.

November 2014: The Met Police launch Operation Midland, which raids the homes of several elderly men looking for evidence to support Beech's claims. A detective calls the accusations 'credible and true'.

April 2015: D-Day veteran and former Army chief Lord Brammal interviewed.

June 2015: Former Tory MP Harvey Proctor, whom Beech accused of child murder, interviewed under caution.

March 2016:  Beech notified no further action was to be taken in respect of the allegations he had made.

2016: Northumbria Police conclude Beech's claims are 'totally unfounded, hopelessly compromised, and irredeemably contradicted by other testimony'.

November 2, 2016: Police arrive to raid Beech's home in Gloucester. 

January 23, 2018: Beech got £60,000 as an early pension from the NHS

February 6, 2018: He travels to Calais preparing to flee to Sweden, where he buys a cabin in the woods and lives under a series of assumed identities, travelling hundreds of miles from city to city to stay on the run

October 1, 2018: He was tracked down by Swedish and British police and arrested in advance of a 20-hour train journey to Gothenburg booked in the name of 'Samuel Karlsson'.

2018: A highly critical review of Operation Midland reports police 'acted like they were searching for bodies' during raids on homes. 

2018: Beech pleads guilty to possessing indecent images of children, in a separate trial.

December 2018: restriction on reporting of Carl Beech's real identity lifted.

May 2019: Beech goes on trial for perverting the course of justice.

Beech also told DS Townly he 'found Edward Heath to be kind'.

He added: 'He reminded me of my grandfather which I didn't like actually.

'Edward would not do anything in front of anyone else ever. I never saw him with anyone else, it was always done alone.

'Harvey was there on one occasion. I cannot remember what I had done but I know I had to [perform a sex act] with

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