ANGRY Harvey Proctor last night accused the Met of wrecking his life with a
VIP paedophile ring investigation based on the ravings of a mad fantasist.
The gay ex-Tory MP, one of several prominent figures named by an anonymous
accuser known only as Nick, wept with relief yesterday as the £3million
Operation Midland inquiry shut down and he was told he faced no further
action.
He said: “Operation Midland was based solely on the ramblings of a liar and a
madman.
“The damage that has been done can’t be undone. The Met allowed me to be
wrongly depicted as a paedophile, child abuser and child murderer by a
fantasist.
“These are some of the worst things that can be said of another human being.
Nothing the Metropolitan Police do or say, no weasel words of regret, can
remove that indelible stain. I hope they are proud of themselves for
irreparably ruining my life.”
Mr Proctor said that because of the Met’s bungling there will always be people
who believe the lies that were told about him.
He added: “There is no way that I will be able to satisfy them but I think the
ordinary man in the street realised this was a fantasy.”
Mr Proctor, 69, speaking exclusively to The Sun from the Spanish home where he
now lives in exile, said Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe had
presided over a “homophobic witch-hunt”.
He added: “Hogan-Howe should resign. He is the cheerleader for ransacking the
homes of so-called high-profile abusers. The fact that such a man can
sanction this type of action should worry us all.
“I do think sections of the Metropolitan Police Service have shown homophobia
in this investigation.
“I believe they investigated me in the manner they did because I was a
homosexual. It has shown the police at their worst.”
The £3million Operation Midland probe began in November 2014 after “Nick,” who
is in his 40s, claimed he was abused for nine years by a group of VIP
paedophiles. He said it happened from 1975, when he was seven, to 1984.
He named Mr Proctor, former PM Edward Heath, war hero Lord Bramall and ex-Home
Secretary Leon Brittan, among others.
It was claimed the group had raped children and even murdered three of their
victims.
Nick’s extraordinary claims included allegations that Heath hosted parties at
his London house where young boys were tortured.
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He claimed he had witnessed Mr Proctor strangling and beating to death two
young boys at one of these parties.
Nick also alleged former Home Secretary Lord Brittan, Britain’s most decorated
soldier Lord Bramall, another senior Army officer and two ex-heads of MI5
and MI6 also attended sex parties in London.
The claims caused a sensation when they were publicised by Labour deputy
leader Tom Watson and the Exaro News website. The homes of 92-year-old D-Day
veteran Lord Bramall and the late Lord Brittan were raided. And one senior
detective described Nick’s claims as “credible and true”.
But doubts began to surface when Nick’s stepbrother and ex-wife described him
as a fantasist who was having a mid-life crisis. The claims against Lord
Bramall were eventually dropped. Police also found there was no case against
Lord Brittan.
And now the 15-month case against Mr Proctor — understood to be the last
living person under investigation by Operation Midland — has collapsed
because of lack of evidence.
Yesterday the ex-MP, wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “Nick Nick”, demanded
his accuser now be arrested. Mr Proctor also vowed not to co-operate with a
judge-led inquiry into the running of Operation Midland which has been set
up by Hogan-Howe.
He said: “The inquiry that’s going to take place is a private inquiry
authorised and organised by Hogan-Howe to protect his own position. It’s not
a genuine independent inquiry.”
The investigation into Nick’s allegations will also be examined by the Goddard
Inquiry into sexual abuse in institutions. But Mr Proctor, who quit as an MP
after a gay sex scandal, said he will also refuse to attend the Goddard
Inquiry.
He added: “Goddard has certain abilities to insist on you turning up. But
there’s not a cat in hell’s chance I will go even if I am fined for
non-attendance or put in jail.”
Scotland Yard Deputy Assistant Commissioner Steve Rodhouse yesterday insisted
Operation Midland had been “handled well”.
He refused to apologise to Mr Proctor and said: “I regret any distress caused
to any individual but the Met can’t apologise for investigating serious
allegations.”
The Met said last night there would be no criminal action taken against Nick.
Lord Bramall yesterday said Operation Midland had been “heavy-handed and
unintelligent”.
He added: “If they had taken any trouble to put their effort in to questioning
the so-called victim, I think they would have found that it was very
unlikely.”
— PROBING child sex abuse costs the public more than £1billion a
year, with 70,000 investigations, top cop Simon Bailey revealed last night.