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| Westminster abuse ring: accuser charged over child sex images | Westminster abuse ring: accuser charged over child sex images |
| (2 days later) | |
| A man who claimed he had been abused by a Westminster paedophile ring has been charged with offences relating to indecent images of children. | A man who claimed he had been abused by a Westminster paedophile ring has been charged with offences relating to indecent images of children. |
| The man, who can only be referred to as Nick for legal reasons, provoked a massive police investigation after he told detectives he had been raped and abused for nine years by a VIP gang. | The man, who can only be referred to as Nick for legal reasons, provoked a massive police investigation after he told detectives he had been raped and abused for nine years by a VIP gang. |
| Nick is understood to face six charges, including making indecent images of children, all of which he has denied. | Nick is understood to face six charges, including making indecent images of children, all of which he has denied. |
| Operation Midland, the investigation into the claims, cost the Metropolitan police more than £2m, closing in 2016 without charges being brought against a single politician, military officer or government official about whom Nick had made allegations. | Operation Midland, the investigation into the claims, cost the Metropolitan police more than £2m, closing in 2016 without charges being brought against a single politician, military officer or government official about whom Nick had made allegations. |
| A Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spokesman said: “In June 2017 a man was charged with four counts of making indecent images of children, one count of possessing indecent images of children and one count of voyeurism. | A Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spokesman said: “In June 2017 a man was charged with four counts of making indecent images of children, one count of possessing indecent images of children and one count of voyeurism. |
| “The man has pleaded not guilty to all charges and the matter is due for trial before the crown court.” | “The man has pleaded not guilty to all charges and the matter is due for trial before the crown court.” |
| Northumbria police said last September they had passed a file to the CPS to decide if charges of perverting the course of justice and fraud would be brought against Nick. | Northumbria police said last September they had passed a file to the CPS to decide if charges of perverting the course of justice and fraud would be brought against Nick. |
| His claims centred on a number of establishment figures, including the late Leon Brittan, a former home secretary, a former head of the armed forces, Lord Bramall, and former Tory MP Harvey Proctor. | His claims centred on a number of establishment figures, including the late Leon Brittan, a former home secretary, a former head of the armed forces, Lord Bramall, and former Tory MP Harvey Proctor. |
| In November 2016, a scathing report from the retired judge Sir Richard Henriques found that senior detectives had fallen for Nick’s “false allegations”, and had misled a judge to obtain warrants to search the homes of innocent members of the establishment. | In November 2016, a scathing report from the retired judge Sir Richard Henriques found that senior detectives had fallen for Nick’s “false allegations”, and had misled a judge to obtain warrants to search the homes of innocent members of the establishment. |
| “Those accused remained isolated and uninformed of the progress of these several investigations until finally being informed that there was an insufficiency of evidence against them. In short, these men are all victims of false allegations and yet they remain treated as men against whom there was insufficient evidence to prosecute them. The presumption of innocence appears to have been set aside,” the report concluded. | “Those accused remained isolated and uninformed of the progress of these several investigations until finally being informed that there was an insufficiency of evidence against them. In short, these men are all victims of false allegations and yet they remain treated as men against whom there was insufficient evidence to prosecute them. The presumption of innocence appears to have been set aside,” the report concluded. |
| Last September the Met paid out about £100,000 in compensation to Brittan’s widow and Bramall in relation to the botched investigation into child sexual abuse and murder. | Last September the Met paid out about £100,000 in compensation to Brittan’s widow and Bramall in relation to the botched investigation into child sexual abuse and murder. |
| Last March, the Independent Police Complaints Commission said three detectives who had worked on the case were to be investigated for allegedly misleading a judge to secure search warrants. | Last March, the Independent Police Complaints Commission said three detectives who had worked on the case were to be investigated for allegedly misleading a judge to secure search warrants. |