A former nurse accused of lying about a VIP paedophile ring that he claimed murdered three boys has given a graphic account of the alleged killings and insisted: “I was there and I know it took place.”
Carl Beech is alleged to have fabricated claims that he was among the victims of a group of high-profile establishment figures who he said raped, kidnapped and murdered boys in the late 1970s and early 80s.
The 51-year-old repeated his claim that he witnessed a boy being deliberately mown down by a car in a revenge hit-and-run after being warned by the late MI5 head Sir Michael Hanley not to have any friends.
The alleged fantasist – known under the pseudonym “Nick” – also tearfully said he tried to save another boy who he claimed was raped and strangled by former Tory MP Harvey Proctor, the court heard.
On a third occasion, he alleged that Hanley ordered Beech and three other boys to choose which of them was to die at an abuse session before a child was beaten to death.
Giving evidence for the second day at Newcastle crown court, Beech also told jurors how the former prime minister Sir Edward Heath cuddled and comforted him after he became upset on the politician’s yacht. Meanwhile, Beech claimed the former home secretary Leon Brittan raped him over a bath while holding his head under the water.
The allegations made by vicar’s son Beech – himself a convicted paedophile after pleading guilty to possessing and making child abuse images in a separate trial – led to a £2m Scotland Yard inquiry that closed without a single arrest being made.
The father-of-one alleged the “the group” included Heath, Brittan, Proctor, Field Marshal Lord Bramall and TV star Jimmy Savile, among others. Beech denies 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one count of fraud over a £22,000 compensation payout he received.
Last month, Proctor broke down in tears as he gave evidence, describing how his life became a “horrendous, irrational nightmare” after Beech accused him of child murder and rape. He said the claims were the “ravings of a fantasist”.
The seven-week trial earlier heard how Beech told detectives that his friend, Scott, was run over and killed by the paedophile gang in 1979 but police could find no trace of the incident.
Asked by Collingwood Thompson QC, defending, about the suggestion that his claim about the hit-and-run attack was a figment of his imagination, Beech replied: “I know what happened. I was there and I know it took place.”
Beech became emotional as he told the court that Scott – whom he claimed to have met in a playground in Kingston-upon-Thames, south-west London – was run over as they walked away from school during the day.
“He was hit by a car,” Beech alleged, explaining that the pair were side-by-side on the pavement. “I just heard a loud noise behind me. It all sort of happened at the same time.”
Beech said Scott “went over the front of the car into the road”, adding: “His leg was bent in a funny direction. There was blood on his head.”
Beech claimed he was dragged away into a car, adding: “I just remember something in my arm and I don’t remember anything after that.”
The paedophile gang was responsible for the attack, Beech said, claiming that Hanley had warned him not to have friends shortly after he met Scott several months earlier. “I’m not sure I believed anything would happen. I ignored what he said,” he told the court.
Beech said he did not tell anyone about the incident afterwards, explaining: “I didn’t even say anything to my dog.”
On another occasion, Beech told the court he was taken to a townhouse in London with another boy who he thought was “possibly” Martin Allen, the teenager who went missing in 1979.
He claimed Proctor and another man tied the boy to a table, with the politician stabbing the child in the arm and cutting his chest and legs before both men left the room.
Beech told the court: “I tried to untie him, but I couldn’t. There was a lot of blood, he just kept saying sorry.”
When the men returned, Beech said, Proctor then raped the other boy. Asked by Thompson QC, what he was doing while that happened, Beech replied: “Begging for him to stop and he kept saying sorry, but they didn’t listen.”
Beech said he held hands with the other child as they were both being raped, while the other boy was being strangled. Afterwards, Beech told the court, he “tried to wake him up but I couldn’t”.
At another abuse session at a London house allegedly attended by Brittan, Proctor, Hanley and other men, Beech claimed a boy was beaten until he stopped breathing.
Proctor has always vehemently denied all the accusations made by Beech. The trial continues.
