I treat the early release of Carl Beech from his 18-year prison sentence for perverting the course of justice and serious sexual offences in the same way that I treat the man himself: with cold contempt and icy disdain. God-willing, Mr Beech now has many years in which to rebuild his life. I do not. He stole the twilight of my years from me, and from my partner. The damage he inflicted was deliberate, calculated and devastating.

I hope that the licence under which he has been released contains strict and enforceable conditions preventing him from making further false allegations against those he has already traduced, including myself. He must not be permitted to compound the harm he has already caused by reviving lies that have already been exposed, tested in court and proven criminally false. Mr Beech should be treated no differently from any other offender. But neither he nor his supporters should be allowed to cause further damage by repeating allegations that have already destroyed lives.

What compounds the injustice is this: in law, I and others who were falsely accused are not recognised as victims of Carl Beech’s crimes. Instead, the Crown alone is treated as the victim. That is why I was not informed of his release. It is a profound failure of the justice system that those whose lives were torn apart by false allegations are excluded from even the most basic recognition of harm.

Operation Midland was launched by the Metropolitan Police more than ten years ago. Not a day has passed since without its consequences being felt by me, my partner and my friends. I am pleased that I am in work once again. I am relieved that I no longer live in a garden shed. I am grateful that I can live in the United Kingdom and no longer face exile – although I still receive death threats and have subsequently had a panic alarm installed in my home by the police. I have been found innocent by Sir Richard Henriques, by the jury at Newcastle Crown Court in the Beech trial, and by every genuinely, fair and independent voice that has examined this scandal.

Yet innocence does not erase the stain of accusation. It is horrific to be accused of child abuse and serial murder. Being cleared does not remove the burden of knowing that anyone – least of all the Metropolitan Police – could ever have thought me capable of such dark deeds. Those allegations lodge themselves in the soul. They do not disappear with a verdict.

What remains most troubling is that, despite the scale of the errors committed, no police officer has been held personally accountable for the catastrophic failures of Operation Midland – instead they have been enriched, ennobled or have retired in a gold plated pension.

What is equally troubling is the silence of those who played a public role in legitimising Carl Beech’s lies. I am shocked and dismayed that no apology has ever been forthcoming from Tom Watson, who offered disingenuous and vehement support for Beech, yet was later ennobled by Sir Keir Starmer – despite Watson’s initial nomination by Jeremy Corbyn being refused by the House of Lords Appointments Commission. Nor has there been contrition from the Prime Minister, who as Director of Public Prosecutions championed a policy that upended centuries of British justice by instructing prosecutors to “believe the victim”, weakening the presumption of innocence with catastrophic consequences.

Nor should the role of influential broadcasters be forgotten. James O’Brien, another cheerleader for Carl Beech, was prepared to attack me publicly – not once, but twice – including on LBC, where he falsely claimed that I had “lied egregiously” about my private life in the 1980s. It was a falsehood dressed as righteousness. 

Those who appoint themselves arbiters of truth might reflect on their own records before smearing others. His support for Carl Beech’s narrative, and for the wider culture that enabled it, should neither be forgotten nor excused.

Finally, despite the scale of the failures exposed, no police officer has been held personally accountable for the catastrophic errors committed during Operation Midland. That absence of accountability should concern everyone. If this could happen to me, a former Home Secretary, Prime Minister and Head of the Armed Forces, it could happen again – to anyone. We are all vulnerable to false accusations and to wrongful investigations when basic safeguards are abandoned.

My thoughts today are with Lady Diana Brittan and her family, with the loved ones of Sir Edward Heath, and with the family of Lord Bramall. For many of us, the consequences of Carl Beech’s criminality did not end with his conviction and they do not end with his release.

• Harvey Proctor is a former MP and president of the non-profit organisation Facing Allegations in Contexts of Trust (FACT)