Harvey Proctor was questioned by Met Police officers past year as part of Operation Midland, an investigation into accusations of sex abuse at the Dolphin Square apartment block, in London, in the Seventies and Eighties.
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In a powerful open letter to MPs and peers, Mr Proctor says: “With regard to the felonious notion that there was a Westminster or VIP paedophile ring in operation in the years of Mrs Thatcher’s administrations, some of your number who have courted press attention and constituency idolatry by their outlandish, false and self-seeking declarations should return to the floor of the House of Commons and apologise”.
“Operation Midland, and its ineptitude, should be investigated by Parliament and the lessons learnt applied to all cases”, Mr Proctor wrote, adding: “The Met, and other police constabularies, are the “leakiest” of bodies”.
The allegations by a witness identified only as “Nick” had been described by a senior detective in December 2014 as “credible and true” yet, despite an investigation lasting 16 months, no one was arrested or charged.
Started at the end of 2014, Operation Midland has been one of a series of recent investigations into historical child abuse in Britain dating back to the 1970s. “Nick” was told of the decision to shut down the inquiry shortly after Mr Proctor was informed.
The judge’s conclusions could make some uncomfortable reading for Scotland Yard’s Commissioner.
March 2015: Detectives search the home of ex-MP Harvey Proctor and the armed forces chief and D-Day veteran Lord Bramall.
In a statement running to more than 1,000 words, the force said: “In the course of the investigation, officers have not found evidence to prove that they were knowingly misled by a complainant”.
Nick had come forward with allegations that he had been abused himself and that he was aware of a wider ring of abuse in which the three alleged homicides had happened.
Other child sex abuse inquiries launched by Scotland Yard had cost £8.6 million by November, excluding police overtime, travel or expenses. Both men deny any wrongdoing.
He delivered a blistering broadside at a packed news conference last summer during which he claimed he was the victim of a homosexual witchhunt and revealed that former prime minister Sir Edward Heath and ex-home secretary Leon Brittan had been named among his “alleged co-conspirators”.
He also attacked police for stating publicly that they thought Nick’s claims were “credible and true”.
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The inquiry came under intense scrutiny after the Met announced that Lord Bramall would face no further action over historical child abuse allegations. A few days later Scotland Yard issued a lengthy statement saying it regrets the distress to him and his late wife during the investigation.
