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VIP paedophile sex ‘lies’ defendant tells court of voyeurism case

An ex-children’s nurse accused of inventing a VIP paedophile gang told jurors he set up a hidden camera to film a boy using a toilet out of “curiosity” to see if he found sexual gratification in it.

Carl Beech, 51, told Newcastle Crown Court on the second day of being cross-examined by the prosecution that he deeply regretted it, and was ashamed of downloading indecent images of children.

The defendant from Gloucester denies lying about sadistic abuse he claimed he suffered in the 1970s and 1980s at the hands of senior politicians, Army top brass, security chiefs and Jimmy Savile.

The jury has heard that while the Metropolitan Police were conducting the £2 million Operation Midland probe, which ended without making a single arrest, he was a “committed and manipulative paedophile”.

The defendant, known in media reports as “Nick”, has previously admitted voyeurism and indecent images charges.

Tony Badenoch QC, prosecuting, asked him about setting up the covert camera in a toilet.

Beech, an ex-school governor, said: “I think it was curiosity.”

Asked to explain what he was curious about, he replied: “I don’t know… Some of those I find quite hard to explain.

“I accept it was not something I should have done, it is totally unacceptable.

“I think part of this was seeing if I did get sexual gratification in this type of thing.”

After telling the court he did not get gratification from it, he was asked to explain why he did it.

Beech replied: “I am completely disgusted with myself.

“It’s not something that I should have done.

“Yes, there may be a few reasons in my subconscious as to why I did, but there are no excuses.

“I shouldn’t have done it, I deeply regret it and I let a lot of people down in doing that, with my actions.”

Earlier, he claimed to the court he was flown to Paris on a private Boeing 747 to be abused as a child, something he had not told police over 20 hours of interviews when detectives were looking into his allegations.

When asked who else was on the plane, Beech paused before replying: “I don’t recall.”

Mr Badenoch asked: “You got a Boeing 747 to Paris and you don’t recall… Because you are making it up as you go along?”

Beech replied: “No.”

Carl Beech court case
Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Carl Beech (Elizabeth Cook/PA)

The father-of-one was eventually paid £22,000 in criminal injuries after claiming to have been abused over years by high-profile paedophiles.

He immediately put down a £10,000 on a Ford Mustang convertible, despite being in debt, the court heard.

He also claimed Sir Michael Hanley, a former head of MI5, shook up a jar of wasps, released them and then exited the room to punish abuse victims.

Beech told his counsellor he had repeatedly been stung and denied Mr Badenoch’s assertion that it was a “complete fantasy”.

He also denied a document titled Too Many Secrets was intended to be published as a memoir of his survivor’s story.

Beech, who previously wrote a self-published book on nursing, said he wrote the 75-page document “to help collate and organise my thoughts”.

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