‘Nick’ and Scotland Yard decide to make no response to former Tory MP’s denunciation
By Mark Conrad and Mark Watts | 29 August 2015
Detectives are still examining items seized nearly six months ago in their raid of former Conservative MP Harvey Proctor’s home, Exaro can reveal.
The time spent on sifting through a large number of seized items is understood to be one reason why the police investigation into the ex-MP and others is taking so long.
Proctor called a press conference on Tuesday to denounce the police who, he explained, are investigating him over allegations of child sex abuse, torture and the murder of two boys, all of which he said are false claims. He called the police investigation a “homosexual witch-hunt”.
Asked at the press conference by Exaro what was seized by police from his property, Proctor confirmed that they took computers and other items, then said: “I’m being given the wink from my solicitor that I shouldn’t reveal exactly the nature of what was taken.”
Pressed on why he could not answer, he said: “What’s the adage, that you don’t have a dog and bark yourself? So had my solicitor not given the wink-”
Exaro asked his solicitor, who was alongside Proctor at the press conference, to explain why the question could not be answered.
The solicitor said: “We simply choose not to, sir.”
Proctor confirmed that police had not returned any of the seized items to him. The former MP was also asked whether police had said anything to him about material on his computer.
Proctor said: “They have said some things about computers, but it took a long time for them to trawl that material and nothing has come back so far,” adding, “There are a lot of computers.”
He dismissed the “preposterous allegations” against him, saying: “I denied all and each of the allegations in turn and in detail, and categorised them as false and untrue and, in whole, an heinous calumny.”
Exaro revealed in March that detectives on the Metropolitan Police Service’s ‘Operation Midland’ had raided Proctor’s house. At the same time as searching Proctor’s house, the police carried out a series of co-ordinated raids on the properties of the late Lord Brittan, home secretary in Margaret Thatcher’s government, and Lord Bramall, the elderly former head of the armed forces.
Bramall said that he was “mystified” by the police search, and denied that he had any connection with the matters under investigation.
It is understood that police seized hundreds of items from the co-ordinated raids, including computers, mobile phones, and personal papers.
More than three months later, in June, police interviewed Proctor under caution for six hours.
Police questioned Proctor again under caution on Monday, the day before the ex-MP’s press conference.
The Met launched Operation Midland last year after a key witness known as “Nick” came forward initially to Exaro to give an account of child sex abuse at Dolphin Square and elsewhere. He then agreed to talk to police.
Nick has given the police an account of the abuse and torture of him and other boys by a group of 12 powerful people. He also alleges that the paedophile network murdered three boys.
Proctor strongly criticised Nick during his press conference.
Nick has decided not to make any comment in reply to Proctor, preferring to leave it to the police.
The Met also decided against making any statement in response for now. A Met spokesman simply said: “We cannot give a running commentary on the investigation.”
The Daily Mail reported today that Proctor is moving to live with friends abroad because of the upset caused by the investigation, saying that he had left his cottage on – and his job at – the estate of Belvoir Castle, which is owned by the Duke and Duchess of Rutland, for the final time on Thursday. He was said to have flown to the continent.
Proctor was quoted as saying: “The duke and duchess have been completely understanding. But their legal advisers decided it was no longer possible for me to continue doing my job at Belvoir Castle. Therefore, I tendered my resignation. This is my last day in the job. It’s very distressing.”
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