The Home Secretary Priti Patel has called for an investigation into the Met Police over their handling of false claims made by former Kingstonian Carl Beech.

Mr Beech, who previously lived in Kingston, is currently serving an 18-year jail term for fabricating a series of claims of rape, torture and murder by innocent, well-known names from the military, security services and politicians.

The allegations led to an investigation called 'Operation Midland' that cost £2 million and ended without a single arrest having been made.

It saw the homes of D-Day veteran Lord Bramall; Lady Diana Brittan, the widow of former home secretary Leon Brittan; and former Tory MP Harvey Proctor raided on the basis of false claims made by Mr Beech.

On Friday (October 4) it was revealed that Ms Patel wrote to the Chief Inspector of Constabulary Tom Winsor, asking him to review the actions of the Metropolitan Police over Operation Midland.

In Ms Patel's letter, entitled "Maintaining public confidence in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) following the publication of Sir Richard Henriques' review", she said:

"I am grateful to the MPS for the steps they are taking to ensure that there is transparency around the failings identified by Sir Richard (Henriques) that had such a distressing impact on those falsely accused.

"It is imperative that the public receive assurance that the MPS has learned from the mistakes identified in Sir Richard's report and have made - and continue to make - necessary improvements.

"To this end I am writing to you to request, under the provisions in s54 of the Police Act 1996, that Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) undertake an inspection at the earliest practicable opportunity to follow up on Sir Richard's review."

Operation Midland lasted 16 months and ended in 2016.

The Metropolitan Police are expected to release parts of a review by former High Court judge Sir Richard Henriques, referenced to by Ms Patel, who was called in after the failed operation ended.

Some details of Sir Richard's report were released by the Met three years ago, in which he criticised the Met for believing Beech for too long; one officer announcing publicly that his claims were "credible and true"; applying for search warrants with flawed information and failing to close the investigation sooner.

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, who was the Met Police Chief at the time, made a series of extraordinary apologies over the disastrous investigation, that has to date cost the force around £4.5 million.

This includes payouts to the Brittan family and Lord Bramall.

Mr Proctor is suing the Met for £1 million and a settlement has yet to be reached.