Ex-Armed Forces head Lord Bramall dies aged 95

Former chief of the Armed Forces Lord Bramall has died aged 95, it has been confirmed.

The Normandy D-Day veteran retired from the House of Lords in 2013.

He was falsely accused in 2014 of child sexual abuse by the paedophile fantasist Carl Beech.

He was too ill to attend the trial of Beech in person earlier this year. Beech was later jailed for making the false allegations.

Lord Bramall’s wife died in 2015 before detectives announced they were not charging him.

A field marshal and baron, Lord Bramall served during the Normandy landings and commanded UK land forces between 1976 and 1978.

He become chief of the general staff – the professional head of the Army – in 1979, and in 1982 he oversaw the Falklands campaign.

Later that year he became chief of the defence staff – the most senior officer commanding the UK’s armed forces – and served until 1985.

The BBC’s home affairs correspondent Dominic Casciani said Lord Bramall’s last years were “dominated” by Operation Midland, the Metropolitan Police’s probe into Beech’s false claims.

Lord Bramall, a father-of-two, thumped the desk and called the allegations “ridiculous” when he was questioned by police in 2015.

Footage of his police interview, which happened weeks after his home was raided, was played at Beech’s trial.

“I am absolutely astonished, amazed and bemused,” Lord Bramall said in that interview.

“I find it incredible that anybody should believe that someone of my career standing, integrity, should be capable of any of these things, including things like torture – unbelievable.”