The man at the centre of the Westminster child abuse claims has been charged with possessing child pornography. It comes as the son of one of the men he accused pledged to privately prosecute him over his claims.
The accuser, who has been named only as “Nick”, sparked Operation Midland in November 2014 after he told police he had been raped and abused for nine years by the VIP gang during the 1970s.
The £2.5 million inquiry collapsed in 2016 without any arrests and one of the accused men, Labour peer and former MP Lord Janner, died before having the chance to clear his name.
Reports in both The Sun and Daily Mail on Wednesday said Nick had since appeared in court on child pornography charges. The Mail launched a legal challenge and won the right to reveal the details today, more than six months after the man was charged.
The Crown Prosecution Service did not name the accused, but a spokesperson confirmed to HuffPost UK that a man had been charged in June 2017 with four counts of making indecent images of children, one count of possessing indecent images of children and one count of voyeurism.
The man, the CPS said, had denied the charges and the matter was due for trial before a crown court later this year.
Meanwhile, Lord Janner’s son, Daniel Janner, has said that he will privately prosecute Nick if the CPS does not. “Nick accused my late father of raping him – he must now be prosecuted for his lies,” he said.
Janner, who is a QC, blasted the CPS for the delay in making a decision on whether to charge Nick with making false allegations.
Last September, Northumbria Police said it had passed a file to the CPS to decide if charges of perverting the course of justice and fraud would be brought against Nick.
According to The Sun, prosecutors are still deciding whether to charge Nick with perverting the course of justice and fraud over a suspected fake claim to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.
“If the CPS refuse, I will bring a private prosecution,” Janner said.
“The child abuse enquiry must now drop the strand in my innocent late father’s name, all the civil abuse claims against him having been dropped.”
Nick said in an interview with police in September 2016 that he was driven to various addresses in London and introduced to people at parties.
“He associated Lord Janner with the group who physically and sexually assaulted and raped him,” Janner said.
“I’m concerned, my father was named by Nick so I’m going to prosecute him if the CPS don’t.
“This delay is totally wrong, it’s extraordinary and smacks of a cover-up.”
Former MP Harvey Proctor, who was also the subject of Nick’s disproved allegations, has called for an independent inquiry into the anonymity given to sex abuse victims.
“I have now come to the conclusion that the whole question of anonymity needs a complete review, investigation and overhaul,” he said.
“I believe the Home Secretary, if not the Prime Minister, should set up an independent inquiry into the issue of anonymity.
“We can’t rely upon the police to police themselves on this matter.”
The Metropolitan Police raided the homes of prominent figures during Operation Midland, including Lord Bramall and the late ex-home secretary Lord Brittan, despite the case relying solely on the claims of Nick.