Carl Beech: Trial of Westminster VIP paedophile ring accuser set to last months, judge warns

Fifty-one-year-old formerly known only as ‘Nick’ accused of lying to police about prominent figures abusing children

Carl Beech is alleged to have fabricated claims of a Westminster child sex abuse ring (EPA)

Potential jurors in the prosecution of a man accused of fabricating claims about a Westminster VIP paedophile ring have been warned the trial is likely to last several months.

Carl Beech, 51, from Gloucester, is facing 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one count of fraud in a trial set to open at Newcastle Crown Court this week.

He is accused of making up child sex abuse claims involving former prime minister Edward Heath, ex-home secretary Leon Brittan and other prominent figures in politics, the army, security services and television.

The allegations prompted the Metropolitan Police to launch Operation Midland, a £2.5m investigation which closed in 2017 without any arrests.

Mr Beech, formerly known only as “Nick”, is also accused of fraudulently receiving £22,000 in compensation after claiming he had been abused by the alleged paedophile ring.

He was charged in July after Northumbria Police passed a file to prosecutors.

Mr Justice Goss picked a group of 25 potential jurors from a larger group on Tuesday and warned them they face a “long trial” if selected.

He sent them home for the night to return on Wednesday, allowing them time to check with their employers and families that they could sit in on a trial which could last 12 weeks.

The larger pool group of jurors had been given a questionnaire containing the names of people involved in the case.

The judge said jurors must not talk to friends and family about the case, or carry out their own research into it, adding that it has appeared in the news over the past few years.