Carl Beech: Army chiefs accused of being in Westminster paedophile ring were men of ‘great integrity’, court told

Senior officer tells court accused generals had no private life due to demanding work

Two top generals accused of being part of a paedophile ring by a man who was later charged with fabricating the claims were men of "great integrity", whose demanding jobs meant they had no private life, a decorated senior officer has told a court.

Carl Beech told the Metropolitan Police that senior military figures, former prime minister Edward Heath, other politicians and security chiefs were among his abusers in the 1970s, and claimed to have witnessed three boys being murdered.

He claimed that Lord Bramall, the former head of the British Army, sexually abused him at Erskine Barracks in Wiltshire, where his stepfather, Major Ray Beech, worked.

The defendant, from Gloucester, who denies 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one of fraud, also alleged that General Sir Roland Gibbs, Commander-in-Chief of the UK Land Forces, was part of the VIP paedophile ring.

Newcastle Crown Court heard from retired General Sir Garry Johnson, who worked for both Lord Bramall and Sir Roland Gibbs as a military assistant at Erskine between 1974 and 1976.

Mr Johnson, who went on to serve as Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces in Northern Europe, said he never had any cause for concerns about either of his superiors.

Speaking about serving under both men, he said: "To us, our job was to know where he was, where and for what reason.

"I knew both men for years and as men of integrity.

"I would have been so shocked and appalled at the thought of something going on."

Mr Johnson said being a general was like being a senior politician, with no private life.

He said: "There's a sort of cocoon of security which surrounds you which makes it extremely difficult, even if you thought to, to step over the line."

He said staff needed to know where a senior general was at all times, explaining: "He was in charge 24/7. We might go to war with Russia..."

The jury also heard from retired GP Dr Stephen Bamber, who served in the Army as Lord Bramall's aide de camp - running his personal and professional diaries.

Tony Badenoch QC, prosecuting, asked if Erskine Barracks was a place for children and Dr Bamber replied: "No, it was a place to work, it was a working military barracks."

He said he never saw any children there.

The trial continues.

Press Association