Darren, Exaro & that Telegraph piece

Here is the Telegraph piece, by their chief reporter, Robert Mendick,  reproduced in full

Man known as 'Darren’, who claimed to have witnessed paedophile gang killings, was jailed for making hoax bomb calls and falsely confessed to murder 

 

Serious doubts over the testimony of a key witness who claimed to have been present at two murders committed by a VIP paedophile ring can be disclosed today.

An investigation by The Telegraph has uncovered the troubled past of the witness whose lurid claims prompted a 12-month police inquiry.

The allegations made by the witness, known as 'Darren’, led to six people, with no previous record of child abuse, being interviewed under caution at police stations.

Darren had told detectives that he had been present at two possible murders – one of a 15-year-old girl at a flat used by senior politicians close to the Palace of Westminster and of a man with Down’s syndrome killed on a private estate in Suffolk with links to the Establishment.

But The Telegraph investigation can disclose:

* Darren had been previously sentenced to two years in jail for making hoax bomb calls, nuisance and threatening calls about neighbours and criminal damage
* he falsely confessed to the murder of a prostitute in the midst of a high profile police manhunt in the 1990s
* a judge accused him of telling “some pretty whopping lies” at the conclusion of a court case 15 years ago
The claims made by Darren have been investigated by both the Metropolitan Police and by Suffolk Police but no evidence has been found to substantiate the claims. The Suffolk police inquiry has now been halted.
The Telegraph is aware of Darren’s real identity but has chosen not to name him over fears he remains vulnerable. He was abused as a teenager while in foster care for six months in Suffolk but there is no evidence, according to police sources, to corroborate any of his more lurid claims.
The disclosures about Darren’s convictions and false confession – seen as possible attention seeking by a troubled young man – will deal a blow to a campaign begun by Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson and others to prove a murderous paedophile ring once operated at the highest level of government.
Reputations of senior Conservative politicians and even war heroes have been shredded in the process.
Much of the abuse was alleged to have taken place at the Dolphin Square complex in Pimlico, where a large number of MPs had flats  Photo: PA
Darren, who is now in his 30s, had told detectives in the course of three days of interviews last September that he had been present during two murders committed by the VIP paedophile gang in the 1990s. He had been interviewed on a number of other occasions after that.
His testimony had been important in seemingly reinforcing claims made by another child abuse victim, known as 'Nick’, who had also claimed children had been murdered by the VIP gang.
Scotland Yard is also understood to now have serious doubts about Nick’s evidence amid reports that the current police inquiries into the VIP paedophile ring will be downsized in the coming weeks.
The Telegraph understands that Darren had named Lord Brittan, the former Conservative Home Secretary who died in January, of being involved in the gang. He named other high profile politicians as well as a famous comedian.
Six people, with no previous convictions, were interviewed under police caution as a consequence.
Many of Darren’s claims were made public through interviews he gave to journalists at Exaro, an investigative news website. An Exaro journalist even accompanied Darren to police interviews. Exaro has also interviewed Nick at length.
Darren told Exaro that he had seen a 15-year-old girl taken into a room in a flat in Dolphin Square, an apartment block favoured by politicians because of its proximity to parliament, from which she never emerged.
“I did not see her again and fear she may have been killed,” he said.
Darren alleged he had been trafficked to Dolphin Square by Peter Righton, founder of the notorious Paedophile Information Exchange, who lived at one time in a rented cottage on a private estate in Suffolk. Darren, then aged 15, had been working on the estate where he said he had been abused by Righton, who is now dead.
On one occasion, according to Darren, a man in his 30s with Down’s syndrome was tortured to death on the estate when he was tied to two cars. “Both vehicles then slowly reversed and I heard a scream. I think he must have passed out because he made no more sound,” Darren told Exaro in February.
He said he had dug six graves on the estate in the days before the attack and that they were subsequently filled in.
But police after a year-long inquiry have been unable to find evidence to back up Darren’s testimony. It is understood there was concern over some of the timings. It is thought that, for example, Darren worked on the estate at Thornham Magna in Suffolk for about five weeks until June 1992 while Righton is not believed to have moved there until November 1992.
A troubled youth, Darren had been in foster care for about six months in 1992 where he was abused by his foster carer. He subsequently won a claim for Government compensation as a victim of crime.
But the abuse sparked a bout of heavy drinking that led to him calling police and confessing to crimes he did not commit including the murder of a prostitute in what was seen at the time as a possible 'cry for help’.
Darren was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder as a consequence of the abuse and in 1998 he was jailed for two years for a series of hoax phone calls, which included three fake bomb threats, as well as threatening behaviour towards neighbours.
In another court case a year later, a judge said of Darren: “There is a clear propensity to tell some pretty whopping lies. In 1994 he was confessing to all sorts of things like murder and rape which he had not committed.”
The judge concluded “with that track record [he] should be approached with considerable care”.
A senior source at Scotland Yard, which has been involved in the investigation into Darren’s claims, said: “We are between a rock and a hard place. We don’t want people to ever lose faith in coming to the police. We believe our victims and we support vulnerable victims who need our support.
“But this has been months of difficulties. We cannot prove categorically that he is lying but there is no evidence for his claims.”
The source added: “Darren needs proper help. That is absolutely fundamental.”
Police are furious that Darren’s claims were given publicity by the Exaro website before they could be investigated fully by officers. They believe that the glare of publicity has put Darren under more pressure.
“This is not Darren’s fault. This is a problem for the people at Exaro,” said the source.
Police were surprised that an Exaro journalist had accompanied Darren to a number of interviews with detectives.
Mr Watson, elected Labour’s deputy leader two weeks ago, has won huge plaudits for standing up in the House of Commons in October 2012 and alleging that a high level paedophile network had existed with protection from senior politicians in Parliament and even in Downing St.
Mr Watson said that Righton was a key figure in the network of paedophiles and was subsequently contacted by Darren and copied into emails that Darren sent to police officers.
“Darren has told me that he fears for his safety,” Mr Watson told Exaro in January, “Were he to be attacked, I will personally make sure everyone who needs to know will know who these people are.”
Mr Watson added: “Darren’s story is very similar to others. I hope that all his allegations will be thoroughly investigated by the police.”
Last week, Darren refused to comment. He has complained to Exaro that police had 'betrayed his trust’ and that he had withdrawn his cooperation with Suffolk police. He said that police had referred his baby son to social services. “I feel that this was done to silence me,” he said.
He also stands by his claims. “My allegations are true, I have no reason to lie to anyone, I’ve never made any money from speaking out and neither would I want to,” he has said, “I told the truth in the belief that there would be justice. Why would I lie? What would I have gained by lying?”
Police sources have suggested the referral to social services was made over growing concerns that Darren’s postings on the social networking site Twitter were increasingly alarming.
Suffolk police said: “We have a duty of care to protect young people where a concern has been raised for their well-being.”
On Darren’s allegations, the force said: “We fully investigated the claims and these have been found to be unsubstantiated.”
Mark Watts, Exaro’s editor-in-chief, said: “Darren certainly had a troubled start to his life, as is often – although not always – true for survivors of child sex abuse, but you have been badly misinformed about his past.
“We cannot go into any detail about his past because we cannot say anything that could help to identify a confidential source, especially a vulnerable witness.”
He added: “We stand by what we have published.”

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Now the question is for the self proclaimed 'investigative' website, Exaro, is why it didn't investigate it's lone complainant before selling his fantasy account not only to other news outlets, but to the police, who spent nearly a year investigating bizarre fabrications of a convicted bomb hoaxer, and fantasist. Because despite a general comment about slurs, there has been no specific denial of any of the Telegraphs claims from either Darren, or Exaro. The only positive side is unlike the other Exaro  fantasist Esther/Becky/Brooke, Darren isn't trying to rid social media of anyone who he personally dislikes