Carl Beech trial: Man accused of lying about VIP paedophile ring 'shown images of potential victims by reporters'

During a video clip with police Carl Beech cried as he describes how a young boy was killed in front of him.
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Bonnie Christian29 May 2019
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A man who allegedly fabricated claims about a VIP paedophile ring had been shown images of potential victims by journalists, a court has heard.

Carl Beech, 51, told police one of the two pictures shown to him by BBC reporters made him feel like someone had "pulled my heart out" as he recognised it as a boy who he claimed was choked to death by former MP Harvey Proctor.

In a police interview that was conducted shortly after the meeting with the reporters, Beech said that he had cause to believe that the child in the photograph was Martin Allen, who mysteriously disappeared from Kings' Cross station nearly 40 years ago at the age of 15.

Prosecutors allege that Beech, currently on trial at Newcastle Crown Court, fabricated stories about a powerful group of abusers who he said were responsible for murdering three boys as he watched on.

A court sketch of Carl Beech, known as Nick, at Newcastle Crown Court 
PA

Tony Badenoch QC, prosecuting, had previously told jurors that allegations made by Beech had given false hope to Martin’s brother, Kevin.

Jurors heard how Beech met with reporters Tom Symonds and Tom Bateman and retired social worker Peter McKelvie, on November 21, 2014, weeks after he had told Detective Sergeant James Townly, of the Metropolitan Police, about the supposed murders of the three boys.

Details of the conversations he had with the journalists came to light during a follow-up interview with DS Townly on January 5 2015.

He told the officer how one of the reporters produced an iPad with two images on it, describing how one was of an "Asian child" he had seen on the news but was not someone he recognised from his dealings with the alleged paedophile ring.

Carl Beech during a police interview. He is on trial denying 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one of fraud 
PA

But Beech said that he thought he recognised the second image as the boy he had supposedly seen being choked to death by Mr Proctor, telling the officer: "It was like somebody had reached inside and pulled my heart out. It was a pretty poor quality picture, but it just looked familiar.

"It hit me hard, and it caught me unawares.

"I was not expecting to see anything like that, I had to leave the room."

Beech said that he had to take around 15 minutes to compose himself after seeing the image.

He explained how the image was not mentioned again during the meeting, telling the officer: "I just said that I did not want to talk about it any more and they did not push it any further."

The defendant said that, following the meeting, he was sent a news story about Martin Allen, in which it was said that his disappearance in 1979 may be linked to allegations made by “Nick”, a pseudonym for Beech himself which was used by the press at that time.

In a transcript of an interview with DS Townly read to the jury, Beech said he had covered up the image of the boy's face to avoid "contaminating" his evidence about the VIP ring, but had been tempted to go against the officer's advice and conduct his own research.

When asked how this situation affected him, Beech said during the January 2015 interview: "I don't think it's necessarily making it worse, but I don't think it can make it worse."

Jurors had earlier heard how, in November 2014, Beech gave a tearful account of the three murders to DS Townly.

During the account, he described how the former head of MI5, Sir Michael Hanley, told him and two other boys to decide how another child should be killed in front of their eyes, and was then punished sexually when he was unable to make a decision.

He said that he and the two others witnessed the boy be beaten to death by Mr Hanley, Mr Proctor and another man.

Jurors also heard how Beech helped create an e-fit image of the boy in that alleged killing and the one that he said that Mr Proctor had murdered alone - despite prosecutors saying that neither murder ever happened.

Beech denies 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one of fraud.

His trial will continue on Thursday morning.

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