The former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson has used his maiden speech in the Lords to formally apologise for highlighting allegations of historical abuse levelled by Carl Beech, who was later revealed to be a serial fantasist.
Lord Watson, who was also a minister during 18 years as an MP, left parliament before the 2019 election and had been expected to join the upper house swiftly.
However, his peerage was initially turned down by the commission that vets new members of the Lords, seemingly because of his role in seeking action over the claims by Beech of a supposed murderous VIP paedophile ring in Westminster.
Police had raided the homes of the late Conservative minister Leon Brittan, the late military chief Lord Bramall, as well as the former Tory MP Harvey Proctor based on the allegations.
Beech was later jailed for 18 years after a court found he had fabricated the allegations. Brittan died in 2015, before he was publicly exonerated.
Speaking in the Lords for the first time on Wednesday after being confirmed as a peer, Watson apologised to Brittan’s widow, saying: “The first area where I think consensus is always better than disagreement is police reform.
“I apologise unreservedly to Lady Brittan for the role that I played in the investigation of historic child sexual abuse. Her experiences led to several recommendations about how the police conduct themselves. I’m sorry and I owe it to her to work to achieve those aims in this House in the months and years ahead.”
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