A CHILD sex offender who lied about the existence of a murderous VIP paedophile ring was from Gloucestershire.

Carl Beech, 51, a divorced father-of-one from Gloucester, was jailed for 18 years yesterday, Friday.

He was convicted on Monday of 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one of fraud following a two-month trial at Newcastle Crown Court.

Beech - a former school governor and NSPCC volunteer - claimed he had been sadistically abused by famous faces from the worlds of politics, the armed forces and security services in the 1970s and 1980s.

His allegations prompted the Metropolitan Police to launch the £2 million Operation Midland inquiry.

It ran from 2014 to 2016 and closed without a single arrest.

Those named by Beech as supposed 'abusers included former prime minister Sir Edward Heath, late Labour MP Greville Janner and security chiefs Sir Michael Hanley and Sir Maurice Oldfield, who were the heads of MI5 and MI6 respectively.

Also wrongly accused by Beech were Normandy veteran Field Marshal Lord Bramall and the late Lord Brittan, both of whom had their homes searched.

In a victim-impact statement read out in court Lord Bramall, now 95, said: "In service of my Queen and country, I have done all that has been required of me.

"I can honestly say, however, I was never as badly wounded in all my time in the military as I was by the allegations that formed the basis of Operation Midland."

During the trial jurors heard how Beech made a claim through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority for £22,000, which was used to put down a deposit on a Ford Mustang.

Addressing Beech, Mr Justice Goss said: "I'm quite satisfied that you are an intelligent, resourceful, manipulative and devious person."

In January this year, Beech pleaded guilty to possessing hundreds of indecent images of children and to covertly filming a teenage boy.

The sentence took these offences into account.

Prosecutor Tony Badenoch QC had previously explained to the jury how Beech had showed 'breathtaking hypocrisy' in accusing others of sex offences against children while he himself demonstrated an interest in pre-teen boys.