The second version of the Henriques Report is HERE , titled
"The Independent Review of the Metropolitan Police Service's handling of non-recent sexual offence investigations alleged against persons of public prominence Introduction to publication Friday 4 October 2019"
Police operation Midland was set up by The Met Police [London] to investigate the allegations made by Carl Beech aka Nick, a former nurse who at the time the allegations where first made was working for the Care Quality Commission [CQC] HERE, who as their website says "We monitor, inspect and regulate health and social services. We publish what we find, including ratings to help people choose care."
- " Chapter 1 entitled ‘Independent Review’ has previously been published in a redacted form, and the publication today removes the vast majority of those redactions.
- Chapter 2 is specifically focused on Operation Midland (allegations from Carl Beech) and the MPS is taking the highly unusual step of publishing significant detail, including graphic, personal and sensitive information.
- Chapter 3 is the investigation into Operation Vincente (an allegation of rape against Lord Brittan) and as much as possible of that chapter is being published today."
" Chapter 3 - Operation Vincente - an allegation of rape made by a woman against Lord Brittan relating to an alleged incident in 1967.
Chapter 4 - Operation Bixley - an investigation that sat under the wider Operation Fairbank inquiry into allegations of non-recent sexual abuse by politicians.
Chapter 5 - An investigation that sat under Operation Yewtree - the inquiry into allegations of non-recent sexual abuse by celebrities.
Chapter 6 - An investigation that sat under Operation Yewtree - the inquiry into allegations of non-recent sexual abuse by celebrities.
Chapter 7 - An investigation that sat under Operation Yewtree - the inquiry into allegations of non-recent sexual abuse by celebrities.
Chapter 8 - An investigation that sat under Operation Yewtree - the inquiry into allegations of non-recent sexual abuse by celebrities.
Chapter 9 – An investigation into allegations of non-recent sexual abuse by a celebrity – not part of Operation Yewtree."
I shall start with copying and pasting Chapter 2 of the above linked report [pg 68] titled Operation Midland - Wiltshire interview.
I have changed some things slightly like font size to give greater emphasis to some titles, or highlighted some dates, words etc. I haven't changed anything that is said in the report, where it was said etc.
Operation Midland
Wiltshire Interviews
2.1 On 3rd October 2012 ITV broadcast a documentary detailing numerous allegations of sexual abuse perpetrated by Jimmy Savile. As a result of this coverage a man, given the pseudonym 'Nick' by the police, contacted the MPS Operation Yewtree and made allegations about being abused by Savile, by his deceased stepfather 'Ray', and other unnamed men. 'Nick' is now 48 years of age, of good character, and employed by the NHS in a managerial capacity. The case was referred to the Wiltshire Police as the alleged offences originated in that County.
2.1.1 I have summarised the interviews conducted by DC Lewis on 6th December 2012.
Wiltshire - 06/12/12 pg 68
TAPE ONE
‘I only have a couple of memories of moving into Oxfordshire. I don't remember my mother she must have been there. I don't remember where she was. I don't remember school either. My stepfather started hitting me, then he started kissing me, and then he started kissing me on the mouth, and then started to put his tongue in my mouth. I showed I didn't like it then I got a beating for that. He took all my clothes off usually at bath time. It was just touching me and it carried on from there. My mother and I moved to Bicester in early 1976.
The misconduct started straight away. He touched my penis. He pinned me to the sofa or bed and put his hands around my throat. I was at the [NAME] Church of England Primary School and he used to take me out of school and back to the house where there was just more kissing and touching. It was quite a few times a month. I was then taken to meet this one man and it was on a base, I don't know which one. He was wearing uniform. I don't know how to describe him. He had brown hair. I don't know how tall he was.’
TAPE TWO
‘I think he was a Lieutenant Colonel. He had a crown on his epaulets and like a diamond underneath. My stepfather left me with him and he touched my face and touched my hair and undid my trousers and then told me to get dressed. We then left.’
‘When we got home my stepfather told me how well I had done and that he was really pleased. Not long after I was taken to this house, the Wilton house but it was bare. There were three or four men. None of them spoke. My stepfather told me to take my clothes off.’
TAPE THREE
‘The Lieutenant Colonel was there. A guy was taking pictures. I remember the flashes. The photos seemed to go on forever. I was then told to get dressed and everyone except the man from the office left. He started touching my hair again, then stood behind me, kissed my neck and [GIST: describes 70 indecent assault].
He made me get onto the floor and I was lying face down and he put [GIST: describes rape] his hand was over my mouth and the pain was unbelievable. My stepfather came back in and was telling me to get dressed and I couldn't move. I felt like I'd wet myself and I put my hand down the back of my pants and it was covered in blood when I pulled it out. I didn't tell anyone.’ ‘That was my first introduction to the group. It was a different place every time, just houses. I was coming up to nine, I'd have been nine. I was picked up from school by a man in a black car.’
TAPE FOUR
‘I was taken through Bicester or sometimes the other way to Oxford. There were about 20 in the group in total. Names were never used. They referred to the guy from Wilton as an older chap who was at Wilton was referred to as Pete. Another I didn't know for sure was Jimmy Savile It was just his voice. He wasn't there that often three or four times. I remember his voice when he was hurting me. 'I don't remember him doing anything, just general touching or anything, but he would just penetrate. [GIST: describes rape] and he had a long gold necklace.
I was probably nine going on ten. It was in a house with five or six present. I must have been ten. All the males were white except a Middle Eastern person, but that was only in Kingston.’ ‘We moved to Kingston in 1979. I went to Coombe Hill Junior School. I was collected from there in the black car. The incidents with the group continued until I was 15. From start to finish the only person I told was my dog.’ pg 70
‘Q:- I mean this Lieutenant Colonel, possibly Lieutenant Colonel, have you found out since who it might have been?
A:- No, No, No, the only, well as I say if my father was still alive and I tried to ask my mum a few questions and she answered some of them.
Q:- So have you told your mum what's happened to you?
A:- Not in any detail no.’
‘Back in 1989 or 1990 I told her about him (stepfather) but not exactly what he did and she made some flippant remark. Apart from earlier this year we've never spoken about it since. I remember at Wilton she said she didn't know anything was going on.’ ‘I was taken by the man in the car to the group about once a week whilst we were in Bicester. It was just during school time.’
TAPE FIVE
‘Sometimes they told me to play with myself, sometimes I'd have to masturbate them. The rest would just watch or laugh. There would always be somebody there recording everything on a video camera. I had to do as I was told. If I didn't there were punishments, they didn't like it when I passed out. They liked me to [GIST: describes oral rape and being sick]. The punishments varied. They held me down and stabbed things in my feet, all under my feet. They were just laughing.’
‘I was shown a couple of pictures by the guy from the first office. He said it wasn't up to me to decide when I stopped. He showed the pictures to me in Kingston one evening walking by the river in the pictures I didn't have any clothes on. I was aged about 10 in the pictures. He said he would show the pictures to my friends and to my mum. I was about 12 when he showed me the pictures. He knew where I went to school and where my mum worked. He even knew where I'd just come from.’
‘When I started Senior School I just bunked off. I knew about the meetings because they told me in advance. I was told to go and wait. They told me on the way to school. They came to the house once. Most of the 20 men in the group have put [GIST: describes rape]. Only a couple stand out, a Middle Eastern guy and an American. He was American or Canadian with an American accent.’
‘At Kingston it was in school holidays as well when my mother was working. They took me to different hotels. I think the Hilton on Park Lane and one not far from Oxford St. I was about 13. I was taken home in the Middle Eastern guy's Rolls Royce, black I think. I was never paid any money.’
‘Q:- How come you've come forward now?
A:- I'm stupid I know Going back into counselling has helped me get rid of a few ghosts, get rid of a few bad memories...I told my mum I was thinking of reporting it. She just sent me a card saying I was to pull myself together and look to the future. She wanted me to drop the whole thing. She's going to be mortified.
Over the years we've gradually got closer and closer and then since earlier this year when I've asked her questions it's just fallen apart.’
‘When these incidents happened with the group, a lot of times I was the only child present, but not always. About a quarter of the time another child would be present, just one other. His name was Aubrey. We became friends from Bicester. He was the same age as me. I last saw him 30 years ago. I don't know how he got involved. We never spoke about that. They made us touch and kiss together. At one stage they wanted me to hit him but I wouldn't.’
SIXTH TAPE
‘After the first incident there was a lot of blood. My hand was covered in blood. My underwear was bright red. I had a bath when I got home. I didn't have any medical treatment. Sometimes one of the group would see to my injuries. I always assumed he was a doctor. I'm not sure I could describe him just an ordinary guy. I don't know whether he saved my life once. I was held under the water and it all went black. When they hurt my feet he sorted those out.’
‘Q:- So other than you and Aubrey, were there any other children?
A:- There were some more but I don't know who they were. One of them I saw just a couple of times, one I only saw once.
Q:- Were there any other people involved in this from start to the end really, including the possible Lieutenant Colonel, have you names for any of them that you've been able to identify years after the event?
A:- No. No. I've talked about it, my counsellor has asked me but, and it’s weird because there is a big part of me that wants to know if they're still around and who they were but actually there's a big part of me that doesn't. And a few of them' if they were still around, that would worry me....for my own son's safety I suppose.’
‘The Lieutenant Colonel had sexual contact with me lots of times. Virtually every time he placed [GIST: describes rape].’
‘Q:- Did your stepfather put his penis in your bottom?
A:- Mm.
Q:- Was that regular?
A:- Yeah. It was after that first sort of meeting I suppose, couple of times a week.’
‘The Lieutenant Colonel [GIST: describes oral rape and indecent assaults]. The Middle Eastern man penetrated my bottom five or six times. Aubrey was not in London when I was there.
The stuff with Aubrey was at Bicester.’
‘Q:- What would you like from a police point of view investigation wise, what would you like us to do with the information you've told? If we can identify one or more of these individuals?
A:- I think I was hoping that the information might be useful with all the other information that Police get, that it might just add up somewhere or somebody else might have spoken out. If people could be identified, then I think that's something I'd want to know. My nervousness would be of the couple of people in London then I would be very nervous and if I was the only one to come forward’
‘Q:- Do you know who these people are?
A:- I don't know exactly who they are because the cars I was picked up in were diplomatic cars. I don’t know who these people were but they had their own guards.’ pg 74
‘The chap from the first meeting was the ringleader. He would tell me to meet at some point for these individuals. He would be in his 80's if he's still alive.’
‘Q:- The diplomatic cars, any particular Nation?
A:- Again I'm not 100% sure but the Middle Eastern chap was Saudi. And the other was American.’
2.1.2 The following significant points arise from the Wiltshire interviews:
1) The first allegation of buggery by ‘Nick’ was against the Lieutenant Colonel.
2) The occasion when he was allegedly caused to bleed was at the hands of
the Lieutenant Colonel.
3) Names were never used. The only name attributed to any alleged abuser was that of Jimmy Savile.
4) He had not found out since who the Lieutenant Colonel might have been.
5) The group was about twenty in number and included one Middle Eastern person, one American/Canadian and one man called Pete.
6) He was always picked up from school in a car.
7) Most of the time he was the only child present. The only other child ever present was Aubrey (Tape 5) There were some more children but I don't know who they were. (Tape 6).
8) Although there are allegations of violence and buggery against Ray there is no allegation that he inflicted any visible injury.
2.1.3 'Nick's' mother was interviewed and gave a statement on 16th April 2013.
She has held a senior management role in the NHS for many years. Around 1986 'Nick' had told her in a letter that her ex-husband had sexually abused him. She had no idea at the time that he was being sexually abused and had never suspected it.
3) Names were never used. The only name attributed to any alleged abuser was that of Jimmy Savile.
4) He had not found out since who the Lieutenant Colonel might have been.
5) The group was about twenty in number and included one Middle Eastern person, one American/Canadian and one man called Pete.
6) He was always picked up from school in a car.
7) Most of the time he was the only child present. The only other child ever present was Aubrey (Tape 5) There were some more children but I don't know who they were. (Tape 6).
8) Although there are allegations of violence and buggery against Ray there is no allegation that he inflicted any visible injury.
2.1.3 'Nick's' mother was interviewed and gave a statement on 16th April 2013.
She has held a senior management role in the NHS for many years. Around 1986 'Nick' had told her in a letter that her ex-husband had sexually abused him. She had no idea at the time that he was being sexually abused and had never suspected it.
She never saw 'Ray' physically assault or chastise any of
the [No.] children during the marriage and never witnessed anything
remotely like that. She stated:
'I was never made aware by the school of 'Nick' taking any regular unauthorised absences or of him being removed from any classes by anyone. This would be true of any of the schools he attended during his primary and secondary education and I believe his attendance has always been good. I certainly would have remembered if I had been made aware of any repeated absences or removals from class and would have asked the school for more details if I had known'......''Nick' never made any disclosure to me at the time that Raymond was hurting him or abusing him in any way and I do not remember ever seeing any bloodstained underwear from 'Nick' or similar signs of sexual abuse'.
When 'Nick' informed her that he had been sexually abused by 'Ray' he never mentioned any other abuser.
2.1.4 The case was investigated by DC Lewis of the Wiltshire Police and, as there was no living or identifiable suspect, he decided to 'return' the file to the MPS with an accompanying letter in which he expressed certain doubts about 'Nick's' credibility. ‘Nick’ had difficulty in remembering fine details throughout most of his video interview, especially of the type that might identify suspects (the offences were some 30 years old though). Oddest of all is that ‘Nick’ was unable to explain why he never told any of the staff at his schools that he did not want to go with the man/men who came to collect him and take him out of the school quite regularly.
He describes being fearful of the men and they knew exactly where to find him even though he and his mother moved around a few times during his childhood. I do find it hard to reasonably explain how 'Nick' was tracked down at various towns over a seven-year period and simply 'removed from school' to be sexually abused time and again by other members of the gang without someone in authority getting suspicious enough to at least tell his mother.
The logistics behind members of the gang tracking him down across the country are difficult enough to balance without the other odd elements added in.
All relevant documents were delivered by DC Lewis to Operation Yewtree on 9th May 2013. The matter was closed and clearly no other course could have been taken. In an email to MPS, DC Lewis described ‘Nick's’ allegations as 'a little bit odd' and 'it all sounds a bit 'Spooks'.
2.1.5 On the 26th September 2013 'Nick' lodged a claim with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) for compensation. He wrote:
'My step father started to physically and sexually abuse me at the age of 7 and then gave me to a group of men who continued to hurt me until the age of 15. My stepfather only lived with my mother and I for approx. 6 months. I did not report it through fear for my personal safety. It was initially reported to the Met police, then transferred to Wiltshire as the leading force because it covered numerous locations. I had blocked the abuse since childhood. I initially disclosed that I had been abused to my mother in 1989, and my current job at the time got me help in the form of counselling.
However, I was only able to acknowledge that I had been abused and was not able to say what happened because of fear for my own safety if I said anything. Because of the effects it left me with, I put myself back into counselling in January 2012 and reported it to the police later the same year'.
2.1.6 Operation Midland first learned of this claim on 23/02/2015 when ‘Nick’ was visited at his home by the SIO and DC Chatfield. He told them he had made a claim but there had been a delay in payment and the SIO and DC Chatfield agreed that DC Chatfield should assist ‘Nick’ in obtaining payment, which he did. Significantly, Operation Midland failed to obtain details of the claim until November 2015. 'Nick' received a payment of £22,000 on the 1st April 2015 in full and final settlement of his claim. He had obtained his crime reference number from the Wiltshire Police.
2.1.7 Between September 2013 and October 2014 there was no contact between 'Nick' and the Police.
2.1.8 He was receiving counselling from [GIST: COUNSELLOR], who has a diploma in Person-Centred Counselling and Psychotherapy.
According to 'Nick's' blog of 04/05/2014, he met with a few counsellors before engaging with [GIST: COUNSELLOR] as a private patient. She has counselled him on more or less a weekly basis since 2012. Unfortunately, she is not a specialist in childhood abuse issues or trauma. ‘Nick’ was well aware of her shortcomings having told officers on 23/02/2015 that he did not believe she had experience of dealing with sexual abuse victims. ‘Nick’ was encouraged to start blogging on a site entitled 'This Tangled Web'.
2.1.9 On May 4, 2014 ‘Nick’ blogged under the title 'Why did I not speak out sooner?'
‘How could I speak out when it was my fault? Could I tell my teacher? My injuries were evident and my teacher did nothing.... Could the medical profession help me? They saw the state of my injuries and no one tried to intervene and stop it. So there I was, 7 years old, no one to turn to and no one to help me'
This was wholly inconsistent with ‘Nick's’ mother's statement. The blog went on to state how he was taken out of school when they wanted him. Punishments were severe and boys were tortured on a regular basis. There was an inner ring to a paedophile ring who knew they were untouchable. ‘Nick’ said he was kept in check throughout his childhood and teenage years. He stated:
'I can't put into words the sheer terror that filled my life as a child 24 hours a day. I know if I had spoken out, I would not be here today'.
A summary of ‘Nick’s’ relevant blogs appears in the next chapter.
2.1.10 These blogs were read by an investigative freelance journalist working for the Exaro News Agency who contacted ‘Nick’. They met for the first time in London on 21st May 2014.
Over the next few weeks ‘Nick’ spoke about his abuse and provided a list of names, namely, Major Ray Beach, his stepfather, General Gibbs, General Bramall, Jimmy Savile, Peter Hayman, Harvey Proctor, Leon Britton, Edward Heath, and a man named Michael, who was something to do with the Intelligence Service, and a man by the name of Maurice, who was also something to do with the Intelligence Service
2.1.11 In July 2014 Mark Conrad showed ‘Nick’ 42 unnamed pictures of men. Some of these men had been named by ‘Nick’, some were as a result of research by Conrad and others were unknown images from the internet. Conrad included pictures of Michael Hanley and Maurice Oldfield. Both Harvey Proctor and Lord Bramall were identified using this technique. ‘Nick’ also handed to Conrad a pen-knife and a small jewellery box containing two crown shaped lapel badges.
He told Conrad that Harvey Proctor had given him the knife and that he would soon explain, in more detail, how this came about. The showing of the photographs in that manner did not conform with conventional methods of identifying suspects
2.1.12 On 22nd July 2014 Conrad took ‘Nick’ on a walk around London in order to identify scenes. This event is not described in any statement of Conrad, and the route taken and premises observed are not available for consideration. The source of this information is the 'Timeline of Accounts given by ‘Nick’'.
2.1.13 On 19th August 2014 Conrad showed ‘Nick’ an image of [No.] Ecclestone Sq.; premises associated with a notorious paedophile ring active in the 1970’s and 1980’s.
‘Nick’ claimed that the premises were familiar and that he had drawn a picture of them some time ago. After a short time, (not specified by Conrad in his statement) ‘Nick’ sent a photograph to Conrad, I assume by email, of his drawing of the premises in his journal, with the numbers [No.] written on the pillars of the house. The drawing showed clear similarities with the picture obtained by Conrad from Google.
‘Nick’ asserted that this was the address where he had arrived in a car and a young boy came from the basement flat accompanied by a middle aged man. The boy got into the vehicle with ‘Nick’. ‘Nick’ told Conrad that this boy was later murdered.
2.1.14 At this time it is clear that ‘Nick's’ blogs on 'This Tangled Web' were attracting the attention of journalists and those liaising with them, with an interest in exposing paedophiles. One such individual was Peter McKelvie, a former worker in child protection who has assisted Tom Symonds, the BBC Reporter, in coverage of child abuse stories.
At this time Peter McKelvie was providing a degree of support to ‘Nick’. I do not have any chronology of their meetings nor details of information passing between them. There is a sound inference, drawn in part from the forthcoming MPS interviews, that ‘Nick’ was extremely active on the internet
2.1.15 On 9th October 2014 Conrad introduced ‘Nick’ to the Operation Fairbank team, meeting with DS Townly and DC Lamkin. DS Townly had earlier contacted Exaro due to a news article on their website regarding ‘Nick’. It was obvious to DS Townly that the police wanted to speak to the person making those allegations as part of their operation. It appears that the initiative for this meeting came from the Police rather than Conrad. This meeting took place out of London and was no more than an introductory meeting in which ‘Nick’ gave a broad outline of his allegations and was assured that they would be taken seriously. He was reminded continuously that it was entirely up to him what he wanted to do. ‘Nick’ indicated he had suffered no physical injury.
2.1.16 On 22nd and 23rd October 2014 ABE interviews were conducted.
pg 81
'I was never made aware by the school of 'Nick' taking any regular unauthorised absences or of him being removed from any classes by anyone. This would be true of any of the schools he attended during his primary and secondary education and I believe his attendance has always been good. I certainly would have remembered if I had been made aware of any repeated absences or removals from class and would have asked the school for more details if I had known'......''Nick' never made any disclosure to me at the time that Raymond was hurting him or abusing him in any way and I do not remember ever seeing any bloodstained underwear from 'Nick' or similar signs of sexual abuse'.
When 'Nick' informed her that he had been sexually abused by 'Ray' he never mentioned any other abuser.
2.1.4 The case was investigated by DC Lewis of the Wiltshire Police and, as there was no living or identifiable suspect, he decided to 'return' the file to the MPS with an accompanying letter in which he expressed certain doubts about 'Nick's' credibility. ‘Nick’ had difficulty in remembering fine details throughout most of his video interview, especially of the type that might identify suspects (the offences were some 30 years old though). Oddest of all is that ‘Nick’ was unable to explain why he never told any of the staff at his schools that he did not want to go with the man/men who came to collect him and take him out of the school quite regularly.
He describes being fearful of the men and they knew exactly where to find him even though he and his mother moved around a few times during his childhood. I do find it hard to reasonably explain how 'Nick' was tracked down at various towns over a seven-year period and simply 'removed from school' to be sexually abused time and again by other members of the gang without someone in authority getting suspicious enough to at least tell his mother.
The logistics behind members of the gang tracking him down across the country are difficult enough to balance without the other odd elements added in.
All relevant documents were delivered by DC Lewis to Operation Yewtree on 9th May 2013. The matter was closed and clearly no other course could have been taken. In an email to MPS, DC Lewis described ‘Nick's’ allegations as 'a little bit odd' and 'it all sounds a bit 'Spooks'.
2.1.5 On the 26th September 2013 'Nick' lodged a claim with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) for compensation. He wrote:
'My step father started to physically and sexually abuse me at the age of 7 and then gave me to a group of men who continued to hurt me until the age of 15. My stepfather only lived with my mother and I for approx. 6 months. I did not report it through fear for my personal safety. It was initially reported to the Met police, then transferred to Wiltshire as the leading force because it covered numerous locations. I had blocked the abuse since childhood. I initially disclosed that I had been abused to my mother in 1989, and my current job at the time got me help in the form of counselling.
However, I was only able to acknowledge that I had been abused and was not able to say what happened because of fear for my own safety if I said anything. Because of the effects it left me with, I put myself back into counselling in January 2012 and reported it to the police later the same year'.
2.1.6 Operation Midland first learned of this claim on 23/02/2015 when ‘Nick’ was visited at his home by the SIO and DC Chatfield. He told them he had made a claim but there had been a delay in payment and the SIO and DC Chatfield agreed that DC Chatfield should assist ‘Nick’ in obtaining payment, which he did. Significantly, Operation Midland failed to obtain details of the claim until November 2015. 'Nick' received a payment of £22,000 on the 1st April 2015 in full and final settlement of his claim. He had obtained his crime reference number from the Wiltshire Police.
2.1.7 Between September 2013 and October 2014 there was no contact between 'Nick' and the Police.
2.1.8 He was receiving counselling from [GIST: COUNSELLOR], who has a diploma in Person-Centred Counselling and Psychotherapy.
According to 'Nick's' blog of 04/05/2014, he met with a few counsellors before engaging with [GIST: COUNSELLOR] as a private patient. She has counselled him on more or less a weekly basis since 2012. Unfortunately, she is not a specialist in childhood abuse issues or trauma. ‘Nick’ was well aware of her shortcomings having told officers on 23/02/2015 that he did not believe she had experience of dealing with sexual abuse victims. ‘Nick’ was encouraged to start blogging on a site entitled 'This Tangled Web'.
2.1.9 On May 4, 2014 ‘Nick’ blogged under the title 'Why did I not speak out sooner?'
‘How could I speak out when it was my fault? Could I tell my teacher? My injuries were evident and my teacher did nothing.... Could the medical profession help me? They saw the state of my injuries and no one tried to intervene and stop it. So there I was, 7 years old, no one to turn to and no one to help me'
This was wholly inconsistent with ‘Nick's’ mother's statement. The blog went on to state how he was taken out of school when they wanted him. Punishments were severe and boys were tortured on a regular basis. There was an inner ring to a paedophile ring who knew they were untouchable. ‘Nick’ said he was kept in check throughout his childhood and teenage years. He stated:
'I can't put into words the sheer terror that filled my life as a child 24 hours a day. I know if I had spoken out, I would not be here today'.
A summary of ‘Nick’s’ relevant blogs appears in the next chapter.
2.1.10 These blogs were read by an investigative freelance journalist working for the Exaro News Agency who contacted ‘Nick’. They met for the first time in London on 21st May 2014.
Over the next few weeks ‘Nick’ spoke about his abuse and provided a list of names, namely, Major Ray Beach, his stepfather, General Gibbs, General Bramall, Jimmy Savile, Peter Hayman, Harvey Proctor, Leon Britton, Edward Heath, and a man named Michael, who was something to do with the Intelligence Service, and a man by the name of Maurice, who was also something to do with the Intelligence Service
2.1.11 In July 2014 Mark Conrad showed ‘Nick’ 42 unnamed pictures of men. Some of these men had been named by ‘Nick’, some were as a result of research by Conrad and others were unknown images from the internet. Conrad included pictures of Michael Hanley and Maurice Oldfield. Both Harvey Proctor and Lord Bramall were identified using this technique. ‘Nick’ also handed to Conrad a pen-knife and a small jewellery box containing two crown shaped lapel badges.
He told Conrad that Harvey Proctor had given him the knife and that he would soon explain, in more detail, how this came about. The showing of the photographs in that manner did not conform with conventional methods of identifying suspects
2.1.12 On 22nd July 2014 Conrad took ‘Nick’ on a walk around London in order to identify scenes. This event is not described in any statement of Conrad, and the route taken and premises observed are not available for consideration. The source of this information is the 'Timeline of Accounts given by ‘Nick’'.
2.1.13 On 19th August 2014 Conrad showed ‘Nick’ an image of [No.] Ecclestone Sq.; premises associated with a notorious paedophile ring active in the 1970’s and 1980’s.
‘Nick’ claimed that the premises were familiar and that he had drawn a picture of them some time ago. After a short time, (not specified by Conrad in his statement) ‘Nick’ sent a photograph to Conrad, I assume by email, of his drawing of the premises in his journal, with the numbers [No.] written on the pillars of the house. The drawing showed clear similarities with the picture obtained by Conrad from Google.
‘Nick’ asserted that this was the address where he had arrived in a car and a young boy came from the basement flat accompanied by a middle aged man. The boy got into the vehicle with ‘Nick’. ‘Nick’ told Conrad that this boy was later murdered.
2.1.14 At this time it is clear that ‘Nick's’ blogs on 'This Tangled Web' were attracting the attention of journalists and those liaising with them, with an interest in exposing paedophiles. One such individual was Peter McKelvie, a former worker in child protection who has assisted Tom Symonds, the BBC Reporter, in coverage of child abuse stories.
At this time Peter McKelvie was providing a degree of support to ‘Nick’. I do not have any chronology of their meetings nor details of information passing between them. There is a sound inference, drawn in part from the forthcoming MPS interviews, that ‘Nick’ was extremely active on the internet
2.1.15 On 9th October 2014 Conrad introduced ‘Nick’ to the Operation Fairbank team, meeting with DS Townly and DC Lamkin. DS Townly had earlier contacted Exaro due to a news article on their website regarding ‘Nick’. It was obvious to DS Townly that the police wanted to speak to the person making those allegations as part of their operation. It appears that the initiative for this meeting came from the Police rather than Conrad. This meeting took place out of London and was no more than an introductory meeting in which ‘Nick’ gave a broad outline of his allegations and was assured that they would be taken seriously. He was reminded continuously that it was entirely up to him what he wanted to do. ‘Nick’ indicated he had suffered no physical injury.
2.1.16 On 22nd and 23rd October 2014 ABE interviews were conducted.
pg 81