Lord Bramall's son calls for 'forensic' inquiry into sex abuse probe

A public inquiry should be held into the evidence which sparked a 10-month police investigation of sex abuse allegations made against Lord Bramall, his son has said.

A Metropolitan Police probe into the former armed forces chief was dropped last month amid controversy surrounding the overarching Operation Midland, a controversial inquiry into alleged child sex abuse and murder linked to VIPs.

The 92-year-old D-Day veteran, whose home was raided by police last March while he had breakfast with his terminally-ill wife, has attacked the force for its handling of the case.

And in a letter to the Daily Telegraph, Nick Bramall called for his father's accuser, known only as "Nick", to be identified.

He said: "As his son, I never doubted him; but what his family and many others seek is a thorough, public and forensic examination of the evidence, as presented to Operation Midland.

"What was the evidence placed before the magistrate that led to the search of his home in March 2015? What was found? Who did the police interview and when? What is known about the man at the centre of the police inquiry? What was so compelling about him that made his accusations so utterly believable?

"We have the right to know these things. The accuser 'Nick' has wasted millions of pounds of taxpayers' money, months of police time and besmirched the reputation of honourable men. Surely the cloak of anonymity should now be lifted and this man brought to account."

Last week, Lord Bramall claimed that officers did not speak to witnesses who cast doubts on the allegations against him until 10 months after he was first spoken to and said he was left to prove the allegations were not true.

Scotland Yard declined to comment on Lord Bramall's comments and refused to apologise for pursuing the allegations.

Operation Midland was launched in November 2014 following allegations that boys were sexually abused by a paedophile ring centred around Westminster more than 30 years ago.

There were claims that sex parties were held at the exclusive Dolphin Square apartment block near the Houses of Parliament.

The inquiry - which centred on allegations by a man known as "Nick" - was ratcheted up when police announced they were also looking into the alleged murder of three young boys.