The man whose allegations of child sexual abuse and murder led to a full scale Met Police inquiry into alleged VIP Westminster paedophiles involving former ministers and MPs is to stand trial next March.

The man known only as ” Nick” for legal reasons faces 12 charges of perverting the

course of justice and one of fraudulently receiving £22,000 in criminal compensation.

The man, aged 50, appeared by video link at Newcastle Crown Court which will hear the case on March 5. The trial is expected to last between six and eight weeks.

The full charge sheet was published on my blog on July 6 here.

Although ” Nick” did not enter a formal plea his lawyers said ” We anticipate it will be fully contested.”

Separately the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse will also hold hearings in March into allegations of child sexual abuse in Westminster and at the Elm Guest House in Barnes. But the hearings will be confined to a much narrower brief and will not cover any of the allegations in Scotland Yard’s Operation Midland investigation because of the trial.

In order to ensure that ” Nick” has a fair trial as the moderator of my site and on Byline I will not be allowing any comments to be published on this blog entry.