Ex-Tory MP tells ITV News: I'll sue police over abuse probe that has left me 'haunted' and 'destroyed'

Former Conservative MP Harvey Proctor has told ITV News he has been left "mentally and physically destroyed" and "haunted" by the allegation he was part of a VIP paedophile ring in Westminster.

Mr Proctor is suing the Metropolitan Police, who he said "smashed into his life" in a "dragged out" investigation into the now-discredited claims he was involved in the abuse, torture and murder of young boys.

The 70-year-old wept as he described the impact of a probe he said cost him his job, home and public reputation he rebuilt after his political career ended in disgrace in 1987 following a tabloid sting.

In the exclusive interview, Mr Proctor told ITV News:

  • The discredited claims against him have left a "festering wound"

  • He decided to sue the Met after police lawyers took months to respond to his compensation claims

  • No pay out could make up for the damage done by the allegations

  • He is still waiting for an apology from Theresa May over comments she made on the investigation as home secretary

Mr Proctor spoke to ITV News on the same day the Crown Prosecution Service announced they are considering charging the man whose allegations led to the Metropolitan Police's defunct 18-month Operation Midland.

The investigation, which also wrongly implicated former home secretary Lord Brittan and retired field marshall Lord Bramall, ended in 2016 without any arrests or charges brought.

Mr Proctor told ITV News the effects of the investigation, which began in March 2015, were "catastrophic".

"The Metropolitan Police raided my house over two years ago," he said.

"Operation Midland continued for a year, during the course of that I lost my job, lost my home which went with the job, and had to leave the country for almost a year."

The sole accuser upon which the probe was based, referred to as "Nick", had claimed to have been abused by a VIP ring for nine years from 1975, when he was seven, until 1984.

He alleged the group included senior politicians and other public figures and claimed three boys were murdered.

Harvey Proctor is pursuing compensation from the Metropolitan Police. Credit: ITV News

Mr Proctor said he felt his attempt to prove his innocence was "a fight I'm still fighting" and said he was not sure if he will ever recover from the scale and nature of the allegations.

"I feel destroyed, mentally and physically destroyed, because of the gravity of the allegations that were made against me," he said.

"I don't think anyone can say more evil things about another human being than that he had committed child sexual abuse, the torture of children and the serial murder of three children.

"Horrible. And it haunts me. And it is a festering wound that I am fighting very hard to recover from."

Mr Proctor's eight-year career in Parliament ended in 1987 following a tabloid sting after admitting acts of gross indecency, at a time when the age of consent for gay sex was 21.

Allegations about his private life ended Harvey Proctor's political career in 1987. Credit: PA

He said it took him "over 25 years to establish myself from that personal problem" and added: "I don't have the time to recover from (these) greater problems."

The Met last week paid compensation to Lord Brammall and the family of the late Lord Brittan over the false allegations, while Mr Proctor is continuing a separate legal claim against the Met.

All three men received apologies from former Met commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe after police dropped their investigation.

Mr Proctor said he was "delighted" at the compensation payouts by the Met but said he was intent on continuing his legal action.

"The allegations made in their cases was different to mine, therefore my claim is different," he said, adding that it was "a step I very much didn't wish to take".

He said: "(Sir Bernard's) apology was very welcome but it cannot undo the damage that has been caused to me.

"I have a feeling that the Metropolitan Police lawyers think that I will get tired, or bored or die. I have no intention of doing any of those three."

Harvey Proctor was among the public figures who received an apology from Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe after Operation Midland ended. Credit: PA

Mr Proctor also said he is still waiting for an apology from Prime Minister Theresa May for her conduct and comments as then-home secretary when the allegations emerged.

He said Mrs May "did not intervene while the Metropolitan Police were rampaging about the country waiting for so-called victims and survivors to come forward to substantiate allegations that had been made to them".

Mr Proctor went on: "Far worse she intervened by going on television and saying that these matters of VIP abuse were the tip of an iceberg.

"Well it's been demonstrated that they were the tip of an ice cube. I'm still waiting for her apology."

Mr Proctor said he decided to sue the Met after police lawyers took months to respond to his compensation claims.

A spokesman for the Met Police said: “We have received a letter of claim and have been in recent communication with Mr Proctor's legal representatives. We do not recognise what Mr Proctor has said about the delay.”