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An ex-British Army officer is facing jail after he spent thousands of pounds watching children being sexually abused live on the internet.
Andrew Whiddett, of Portsmouth, Hampshire, also discussed flying out to the Philippines - where the sickening videos were filmed - to commit abuse himself, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.
The 70-year-old ex-lieutenant colonel, who was awarded an MBE for service in Northern Ireland, pleaded guilty to six charges relating to the sexual abuse of children at Croydon Crown Court on Wednesday.
The NCA said his crimes were committed in the UK after he left the Army and finished private contractor work as head of security at the British Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.
Following his guilty pleas, the NCA said Whiddett had directed the live-streamed abuse over Skype with "known Filipino child sex abuse facilitators".
Whiddett had conversations with a woman between September and October 2016, in which he made clear he "wanted to sexually abuse a child when he visited the Philippines that October", the NCA said.
Investigators were able to prove that he made 49 payments to the woman totalling £8,584 between January 2015 and July 2017.
On November 21, 2015, Whiddett paid £31.41 to watch a nine-year-old girl abused, the NCA said.
Travel records show Whiddett flew to the Philippines capital Manila on October 21, 2016, and other messages between Whiddett and abuse facilitators were also discovered by officers.
The NCA said it had passed intelligence to Filipino counterparts who made one arrest and safeguarded six children aged between three and 14.
After Whiddett was arrested in October 2017 at Heathrow Airport he admitted in interview to sending 158 payments to the Philippines but said these were for live adult sex shows.
He declined to answer questions in another interview in March 2018.
In court on Wednesday he admitted one charge of attempting to cause or incite a girl under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity in November 2015.
Whiddett also pleaded guilty to a charge of intentionally causing or inciting a girl under 16 to engage in sexual activity in September 2016.
Under a further charge he admitted that in September 2016 he intentionally arranged or facilitated the commission of a child sex offence.
He will also be sentenced over guilty pleas to three charges of making indecent photographs of a child, involving a total of eight category C and three category B images.
Following the guilty pleas Judge Nicholas Ainley warned Whiddett: "You should prepare yourself for a period of imprisonment."
Judge Ainley had issued a temporary order banning the publication of photos of the defendant because his lawyers claimed it would place him in "particular peril".
But legal representations from the press made in court on Thursday saw this restriction lifted by the judge, who admitted the order was made "in error".
Whiddett, who has no previous convictions and is on bail, will be sentenced at Croydon Crown Court on May 22.
NCA senior investigating officer Gary Fennelly said: "Andrew Whiddett was directly responsible for the soul-destroying abuse of children thousands of miles away from him.
"He thought he could get away with abusing Filipino children from the comfort of his own home.
"Anyone like him should realise the NCA and UK police will never give up our pursuit of offenders who commit these horrific crimes.
"The NCA does important work with international law enforcement partners in the Philippines to combat these sorts of crimes."
An NSPCC spokesman said: "Whiddett's actions have helped to fuel a sickening industry where children are horrifically abused to order.
The effects of sexual abuse can last a lifetime and we hope that the children involved are receiving support and safeguarding to get their lives back on track.
"The internet is used as a gateway to child abuse far too frequently. The NSPCC is campaigning for providers to take greater responsibility for what's shared on their platforms and cut off this vile material at source."