A trial date has been set for a woman accused of making up sex claims against a former Birmingham MP and groups of men on Cannock Chase

A trial date has been set for a woman accused of making up false claims of sexual abuse against a former Birmingham MP and groups of men on Cannock Chase.

Esther Baker, 43, has indicated not guilty pleas to four charges of perverting the course of justice and will go on trial in March next year.

Baker appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday for a hearing, but was not asked to formally enter her pleas to the charges.

Two of the allegations relate to former Birmingham Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming and the late Lib Dem peer Roy Jenkins.

She is also accused of falsely identifying Simon Cole, the former chief constable of Leicestershire Police – who died in 2022, as someone who had aided or abetted the commission of sexual offences against her.

Details of the allegations were not read out in court, but according to court documents, Baker is alleged to have falsely identified Mr Hemming as a person who had committed sexual offences against her.

Baker is said to have made similar claims about Baron Jenkins, who died in 2003.

She faces a fourth allegation that on one or more occasions she said she was the victim of sexual offences committed by groups or males in Cannock Chase, Staffordshire, along with at other outdoor locations, private houses and locations unknown.

All the above alleged offences are said to have been committed between December 31 2014 and September 19 2020.

Judge Andrew Menary KC, Recorder of Liverpool, granted unconditional bail to the defendant, of Bridgeford Avenue, West Derby, Liverpool.

She will next appear at the same court for a hearing on June 19, ahead of her trial, which is estimated to last up to eight weeks, starting on March 22, 2027.