Man who sparked Westminster VIP sex abuse investigation in court on fraud charges

The man who sparked a Westminster VIP sex abuse investigation has appeared in court on fraud charges.

The individual, known only as “Nick” is accused of lying to police and fraudulently receiving £22,000 in compensation.

The 50-year-old – whose real identity cannot be published for legal reasons – is accused of 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one count of fraud.

He appeared at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court on Saturday morning.

Nick’s allegations about the existence of a VIP Westminster paedophile ring led to Operation Midland, which saw the homes of figures including Lord Bramall and the late ex-home secretary Lord Brittan raided.

However, the £2.5 million Metropolitan Police investigation closed having found no evidence of any wrongdoing.

In September 2017, Northumbria Police passed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service which led to Nick being charged.

The defendant appeared in the dock for a 13-minute hearing. He was wearing a navy sweatshirt and beige trousers and was sporting a full beard.

Chair of the bench Mrs Margaret Hall rose for five minutes before returning to remand him in custody to appear at Newcastle Crown Court on November 19.

Nick spoke only to confirm his name, address, nationality, date of birth and that he understood he would be remanded in custody.