The Metropolitan Police is under growing pressure to review the conduct of officers who investigated false claims made by former Kingston man Carl Beech.

Mr Beech, 51, was handed an 18-year prison sentence for 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one of fraud after he was found guilty of lying about the existence of a VIP-Westminster paedophile ring.

Police spent £2 million investigating Mr Beech's false claims under the title 'Operation Midland', which later concluded without a single arrest being made.

Former High Court judge Sir Richard Henriques, who reviewed Operation Midland in 2016, said he believes warrants to search the properties of high-profile figures during the investigation were "obtained unlawfully".

His review found more than 40 areas of concern regarding the actions of investigating officers involved in the £2 million investigation into Mr Beech's lies.

Former MP Harvey Proctor, whose home was raided during Operation Midland, said he was "pleased" with Sir Richard's comments and there should be a criminal investigation into Operation Midland.

He called for the Metropolitan Police and the Home Secretary to set up an independent investigation: "I take no satisfaction to having my view that the Metropolitan Police force were wrong in the way that they investigated 'Nick'," Mr Proctor said in reference to the former Kingstonian.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said last week that no officers would face misconduct charges over the case.

In a comment piece published in the Daily Mail, Sir Richard suggested that the warrants authorising the searches of the homes of Lord Edwin Bramall, Lady Diana Brittan and Mr Proctor "were obtained unlawfully".

Sir Richard wrote that three applications for search warrants stated Beech's allegations had been consistent, but he had not found that to be the case.

He added: "I remain unable to conclude that every officer acted with due diligence and in good faith.

"I concluded in 2016 - and I remain of the view - that the officers responsible for the three applications did not in fact fully believe that there were reasonable grounds to believe Beech's allegations."

The allegations of Mr Beech to Wiltshire Police in 2012 were "inconsistent" with those made to the Metropolitan Police in 2014 and with blogs published by Mr Beech in 2014, Sir Richard said.

"Thus the course of justice was perverted with shocking consequences. A criminal investigation should surely follow," he added.