Baseball Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski hugged grandson Mike after the ceremonial first pitch at the Boston Red Sox’s game against the San Francisco Giants in Massachusetts on Wednesday.

The Metropolitan Police claims to have spent £2.5 million looking into Carl Beech’s allegations that he had been raped and abused by famous Westminster figures in the 1970s and 1980s.

Victims of VIP child abuse fantasist ‘Nick’, including former Tory MP Harvey Proctor, have called for a fresh criminal probe into Scotland Yard’s bungled inquiry.

RICHARD HOSKINS: It took me ten minutes of reading Beech’s ‘evidence’ to realise it was poppycock and many senior police officers have rightly been condemned for their astonishing gullibility.

ALISTAIR JACKSON: The team on Panorama’s The VIP Paedophile Ring: What’s the truth? was looking into the sex ring allegations at the same time as the Metropolitan Police.

Four years ago Dawn Beech was watching the explosive BBC Panorama episode featuring ‘Nick’, who was making claims of child sex abuse. She knew immediately it was her husband Carl.

Lady Diana Brittan, whose late husband was falsely accused by Beech – also known as ‘Nick’ – of heinous crimes including rape and torture, refused to accept an apology from the Labour deputy leader.

As the rudderless investigation descended into a black comedy, police probing outlandish abuse claims made by Carl Beech appeared to be auditioning for a revival of the Keystone Cops.

Tom Watson today refused to apologise for his role in bringing convicted liar Carl Beech’s false claims to prominence, insisting his intervention led to the conviction of three child abusers.

Carl Beech’s lies were swallowed by bungling Scotland Yard detectives who launched a £2.5m witch hunt that resulted in Thatcher’s Home Secretary dying under a cloud of suspicion.