Man jailed for VIP sex ring lies released early

A man who made false accusations of murder and child sex abuse against public figures has been released from prison after serving less than half of his sentence.

Carl Beech, now 58, was jailed for 18 years in July 2019 for 12 counts of perverting the course of justice, one of fraud, and for several child sexual offences.

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) confirmed Beech, from Gloucester, has been released from prison on licence but is subject to strict conditions which could lead to immediate imprisonment if breached.

A spokesperson for the MOJ said: "Carl Beech's crimes were shocking and had far-reaching consequences, and our thoughts remain with all those affected."

The MOJ said those convicted of serious sexual offences are supervised and managed "robustly" by the probation service, including strict conditions on where they can live and work.

They can be recalled to prison for their behaviour or breaching these conditions where they pose a risk to the public, it added.

For 18 months between 2014 and 2016, Beech was the star witness in a high-profile investigation, dubbed Operation Midland, into allegations of sexual abuse and murder, involving MPs, generals and senior figures in the intelligence services.

The allegations included sexual abuse, to which Beech claimed he and others had been subject to by a "VIP ring" in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

He also claimed to have witnessed three child murders by the same group.

Operation Midland eventually cost the Metropolitan Police some £2.5m, with Beech himself pocketing £20,000 in public money as compensation for injuries he never suffered but claimed were inflicted during the alleged abuse.

While promoting his lies, Beech, a former NHS paediatric nurse, who was working as a hospital inspector with the Care Quality Commission and was the governor of two schools in Gloucestershire, downloaded child abuse imagery and covertly filmed a teenage boy.

Following Beech's sentencing in 2019, the BBC reported people falsely accused by Beech, and relatives of some of those who died after the investigation started, said they were the victims of "a totally unjustified witch hunt".

Those falsely accused had their properties raided including ex-MP Harvey Proctor, who lost both his home and his job.

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