Tom Watson 'very sorry' for victims of fantasist Carl Beech - but stops short of apologising

Tom Watson has apologised for the suffering of Carl Beech's victims - but insisted that he 'did his best' to get to the truth of the fantasist's claims. Tom Watson says he is 'very sorry' for the people who suffered because of fantasist Carl Beech's lies, but says that he 'did his best' to get to the truth Beech was convicted of fraud and his claims were thrown out by a judge, who jailed him for 18 years The Labour deputy told the BBC today: 'At the time I was very clear, I said it publicly, that Carl Beech was either involved in a deliberate plot to mislead or he was the real deal, that he wasn't mentally ill or a fantasist. Beech alleged that there was a VIP paedophile ring operating in Westminter and accused several public figures 'This was all about at the time trying to establish whether very powerful people who had great influence were treated differently by the criminal justice system 'I'm very sorry Carl Beech chose to profit from that investigation but I did try my best to get to the truth in that.' Among those the former nurse falsely accused were 91-year-old Normandy veteran Field Marshal Lord Bramall, the late Lord Brittan and former Tory MP Harvey Proctor, all of whom had their homes raided in the Metropolitan Police's Operation Midland investigation. Beech, a former nurse, made malicious claims about men including 91-year-old Normandy veteran Field Marshal Lord Bramall, the late Lord Brittan and former Tory MP Harvey Proctor.