Harvey Proctor said he would bring a costly judicial review if the anonymous man known only as ‘Nick’ is given privileged access
A former MP threatened a High Court challenge to the child sex abuse inquiry last night if it gives his ‘fantasist’ accuser special legal status.
Harvey Proctor said he would bring a costly judicial review if the anonymous man known only as ‘Nick’ is given privileged access.
The ex-Tory politician said it would be wrong to make the suspected fantasist a ‘core participant’ when he is under police investigation.
Northumbria Police was brought into prove allegations ‘Nick’ invented lurid allegations which led to claims of a Westminster VIP paedophile ring.
Mr Proctor, who has been left destitute as a result of the claims, said he would challenge any decision to take evidence from ‘Nick’.
He suggested granting special status, under which individuals can apply for legal costs, will encourage some to ‘accuse anyone from public life in the last half century, alive or dead.’
And he called on Professor Alexis Jay, who is chairing the inquiry, to undertake not to hear his claims or he will ‘seek a judicial review’.
He said the inquiry must not ‘double guess and regurgitate the disastrous investigation of the Met or to take evidence from internet or other ‘fantasists’.
‘Unless Prof Jay does so, the concentration on this baseless strand will intensify the pressure on me which I have suffered for over two years,’ he said.
‘I wish to make it clear that I will refuse any attempt by the Inquiry to drag me into this Westminster strand of their inquiries whatever the legal consequences of my decision.
‘I will not be treated as a performing animal for this nonsensical child abuse investigation. The Inquiry has become an industry in which I have no intention of participating.’
His comments came as the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA) announced the terms of its work into the so-called Westminster VIP sex ring scandal.
Allegations that members of the British Establishment attended sex parties where underage boys were raped and murdered are among some of the most shocking it is considering.
They generated a wave of outrage and unanswered questions which led to the foundation of the troubled inquiry itself.
But one of the key figures behind them, Nick, is now suspected of lying to Scotland Yard detectives who once described him as ‘credible and true’.
In a landmark legal move, Mr Proctor is suing him for a more than six figures for spreading ‘malicious falsehoods’ about him.
He also accuses the Metropolitan Police of bungling the inquiry, known as Operation Midland, in which he was interviewed twice.
One of Nick’s most extraordinary allegations was that former Prime Minister Edward Heath persuaded Mr Proctor not to castrate him with a penknife
One of Nick’s most extraordinary allegations was that former Prime Minister Edward Heath persuaded Mr Proctor not to castrate him with a penknife.
He is also being investigated over claims he made against the former defence chief Lord Bramall and former Home Secretary Leon Brittan.
An Inquiry spokeswoman said there had been ‘significant developments’ in a series of investigations into the Westminster allegations since the inquiry began.
These include an external review of the Scotland Yard inquiry and a string of probes by the police watchdog into claims of corruption and cover-ups.
According to inquiry documents, a core participant can be an individual or organisation that played a ‘direct or significant’ role in matters under investigation.
They can apply for legal costs and will be given special access to documents and the final report. Decisions on who is admitted will be made on a ‘case by case basis.’
The first hearing on the Westminster investigation will take place in January.