A man whose allegations sparked the Westminster sex abuse probe can now be identified after a judge lifted a legal restriction.

Previously known as “Nick”, Carl Beech is accused of 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one count of fraud and appeared at Newcastle Crown Court via videolink.

Judge Paul Sloan QC lifted a reporting restriction on Monday which prevented the media from identifying the defendant.

No pleas have been entered and Beech will stand trial on 7 May next year. The hearing, which has been put back, will take place at Newcastle Crown Court and are expected to last six to eight weeks.

At a separate hearing last month, Beech’s barrister Raymond Tully said: “We anticipate that the matter will be fully contested.”

The Metropolitan Police launched Operation Midland after it received allegations of a VIP paedophile ring operating in Westminster.

However, the £2.5m probe closed after finding no evidence of any wrongdoing.

In September 2017, Northumbria Police passed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service, which led to Beech being charged.