Carl Beech: VIP abuse ring fantasist loses jail term cut bid

A man who made false claims about a VIP paedophile ring has failed to win a reduction in his 18-year prison term.

Carl Beech was jailed at Newcastle Crown Court in July 2019 after being convicted of 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one of fraud.

The 52-year-old from Gloucester said he was abused by politicians and other public figures in the 1970s and 1980s.

The Court of Appeal said his actions had a "devastating impact" on the victims, and their friends and family.

Beech's actions led to a £2m Metropolitan Police investigation called Operation Midland which ended in 2016 with no arrests or charges being made.

He had falsely accused former chief of the Armed Forces Lord Bramall, who died aged 95 last November, as well as the late home secretary Lord Brittan and former Tory MP Harvey Proctor.

Lord Bramall's wife died in 2015 before she heard her husband had been cleared, while Lord Brittan died during the investigation without being informed that police had concluded there was no case against him.

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Former prime minister Sir Edward Heath, former Labour MP Lord Janner and ex-MI6 boss Sir Maurice Oldfield were among the other people Beech wrongly accused.

Beech's lawyer told the Court of Appeal that the sentence was too harsh as the case lacked the "aggravating factor" of people being charged or facing court as a result of his actions.

But Tony Badenoch QC, the prosecutor at Beech's trial, said the defendant had "traduced reputations" with the "the most lurid accusations".

Judge, Lord Justice Stuart-Smith, said reputations had been affected on a national and global scale and the sentence was "fully justified on the facts of this case".

Speaking after the hearing, Mr Proctor said the decision "draws attention to the damage that false accusers can make and is a deterrent to further false accusers in the future".