Labour’s Tom Watson was ‘cheerleader in chief’ for fraudster Beech, says ex-MP

Former Conservative MP Harvey Proctor has described Tom Watson as the “cheerleader in chief” for the Westminster VIP paedophile ring accuser’s false claims.

Following Carl Beech’s sentencing for perverting the course of justice and fraud, Mr Proctor, one of those to be wrongly accused of being a part of the murderous gang the fraudster made up, criticised a series of people and organisations, including the Metropolitan Police.

Speaking at Newcastle’s Malmaison Hotel, the politician encouraged former Met Police commissioner Lord Hogan-Howe to hand back his peerage and to apologise for Scotland Yard’s Operation Midland investigation into Beech’s allegations.

He accused Mr Watson, who had spoken with the paedophile accuser in 2014 and raised the issue of a possible high-profile criminal VIP ring in Parliament two years earlier, of having a “great interest in himself”.

Answering a question about the Labour deputy leader, Mr Proctor said: “He denies it now, but he was the cheerleader in chief for Mr Beech. He was in the team.

“Tom Watson scared the Metropolitan Police to death over phone hacking.

“He intended to do the same for historic child sexual abuse. Not because Tom Watson has got any interest in historic child sexual abuse. Tom Watson has got a great interest in himself, and in grandstanding, just as he is doing currently on his so-called anti-Semitism campaign.”

He added that Mr Watson had used real child sex victims to promote his career, saying: “If I were influential in the Labour Party, I would now be looking for ways to open the door for him to leave, rather than to shine a green light for promotion if Mr Corbyn decides to resign.”

Mr Watson has previously said that his question to the Prime Minister in October 2012 had led to the police locating the Righton files, used to convict paedophile Peter Righton, which in turn prompted the convictions of three child abusers.

Referring to Beech, he said: “For decades victims of child sexual abuse were ignored or failed by the criminal justice system. I hope that this one fraudster does not take us back to a time where people are too frightened to report serious crimes against innocent children.”

Of Lord Hogan-Howe, who was the commissioner at the time when Beech’s allegations were being investigated, Mr Proctor called on him to hold his hands up and say: “I was the Commissioner for the Metropolis and I failed.”

During a victim-impact statement that was read at Newcastle Crown Court, Mr Proctor, who served as MP for Basildon and Billericay, discussed the reputational damage he had suffered after having his home raided in connection with Operation Midland.

He said he had been spat at by the public, branded a paedophile and a murder, and that Beech’s allegations “would cause ordinary people to revile and despise me”.

The politician had previously explained how the former nurse’s lies led to him stepping down from his role as private secretary to the Duke and Duchess of Rutland.

He added: “The damage to me has been extensive because senior officers of the Metropolitan Police Service, who must have realised that his stories were nonsense, embarked upon an investigation which I am told cost the taxpayer millions of pounds.

“During the course of that investigation, they described Mr Beech’s ridiculous stories as ‘credible and true’.

“I find it extraordinary that an institution which formerly I held in high regard, the Metropolitan Police Service, allowed itself to lend weight to such false and incredible allegations,” he said.

The politician added: “I suffer severe depression and sometimes weep when reminded of what I have lost as a result of the police action.”