Sir Edward Heath KG, MBE
Edward Heath died in July 2005 leaving behind a mass of answered questions going back fifty years
Michael Shrimpton - Ted Heath sexually abused boys, who were then murdered to ensure their silence
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The force said: "We are investigating allegations, we have nothing further to add at this stage.
"Please call the NSPCC on 0808 800 50000808 800 5000 FREE or email help@nspcc.org.uk as they have dedicated staff in place to deal with victims or if you have information that may help police please call us via 101." Sir Edward had already been named in connection with inquiries in London, Kent and Jersey. On Monday Wiltshire Police appealed for potential victims and witnesses to come forward after Sir Edward became the most high-profile figure embroiled in historical child sex claims. Reports subsequently emerged that Sir Edward is being looked at as part of Operation Midland, a Scotland Yard inquiry into claims a VIP paedophile ring operated in the 1970s and 1980s. Operation Midland is part of a wider umbrella of investigations by Scotland Yard, dubbed Operation Fairbank, into allegations of abuse involving senior politicians and high-profile figures. A man, now aged in his 60s, claimed he was raped at the age of 12 by the Conservative MP in 1961 but was branded "a liar and a fantasist" when he reported it to social workers two months later. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "In April 2015 an allegation of rape was made to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). An officer from Operation Fairbank interviewed the complainant that same month and obtained a full account. Support services were offered. "However, after a full assessment of the allegation there were no lines of inquiry that could proportionately be pursued by the MPS." He said the force was not prepared to discuss why that decision had been taken. The States of Jersey Police confirmed the former prime minister features in Operation Whistle, an inquiry in to alleged historical abuse on the island. Operation Whistle was launched by police in Jersey in June as part of Operation Hydrant, a UK-wide co-ordination of sex abuse probes. Later, Kent Police said they had received a report yesterday of a sexual assault in the east of the county in the 1960s. A spokesman said: "The victim has named Sir Edward Heath in connection with the allegation. Detectives are making initial inquiries and will obtain a full account from the victim." Wiltshire Police said its officers and the NSPCC had received "a number of calls" following appeals for information. The force said in a statement: "The investigation team will be reviewing the information and following up any lines of inquiry as a result." A spokeswoman said they were unable to confirm how many people had made contact and the "validity" of the calls was not known at this stage. They have received a mixture of "intelligence" and "third party" calls, she added. Sir Edward's name was dramatically linked to paedophile claims on Monday when the police watchdog announced an inquiry into allegations that a prosecution against an individual was shelved after a threat was made to "expose" him. A woman, named in reports as Filipino Myra Ling-Ling Forde, had been due to stand trial in the 1990s for running a brothel, but the case was allegedly dropped when she said she would name Sir Edward. Forde was later convicted on two separate occasions of offences related to running a brothel from a residential property in Salisbury. The IPCC is looking into whether Wiltshire Police followed up a claim made against Sir Edward in the 1990s. Labour MP Tom Watson has claimed he passed information relating to two allegations of child abuse involving Sir Edward to police since 2012. The Sir Edward Heath Charitable Foundation said: "We welcome the investigation by Wiltshire Police, which we wholeheartedly believe will clear Sir Edward's name and we will co-operate fully with the police in their inquiries." Former Conservative MP Brian Binley, who worked in Sir Edward's office for a period of time, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I find it very difficult to believe from the Ted Heath that I knew. "There are many unanswered questions here and I don't think it would be right and fair to jump to conclusions about a man who served his country with dignity and with care, who was a considerable intellect, loved his music. "We must be very careful. It's easy to smear people not around." Sir Edward, who led the Conservative government between 1970 and 1974, never married and was famously reticent about his private life. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-3185670/Sir-Edward-Heath-sex-abuse-claims-Fifth-police-force-receives-allegations.html#ixzz3hwZCgZ3o Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook A sixth police force has received allegations against Sir Edward Heath, the former prime minister at the centre of historical child sex claims.
It was known that detectives in Wiltshire, London, Kent, Thames Valley and Jersey were looking at sex abuse allegations linked to the late politician. Last night Hampshire confirmed that it was investigating claims. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-3185670/Sir-Edward-Heath-sex-abuse-claims-Fifth-police-force-receives-allegations.html#ixzz3hwYTEnsp Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook Edward Heath 'child sex abuse' allegation: Rumours always swirled about his sexuality - I’m sure that’s all they were As an unmarried man, there were always rumours about his sexuality at a time when homosexuality was inadmissible, even when no longer illegal
In the current climate of suspicion about the sexual activities of all sorts of public figures of the past 30 years, and particularly politicians, it was practically inevitable that Ted Heath’s name would come up sooner or later. As an unmarried man, there were always rumours about his sexuality at a time when homosexuality was inadmissible, even when no longer illegal. When I told people I was writing his biography in the late-Eighties, the one question I was constantly asked was, “Is he gay?” My answer was always that there was absolutely no evidence that he was, in any active way, and from my reading of his character I thought it unlikely. If he had any inclinations that way he would have repressed them; he was too self-controlled and self-contained to do anything that would have risked his career. In spite of periodic scurrilous attempts to suggest otherwise, I still believe that to be the case; and I was pleased to see that Michael Bloch’s recent book Closet Queens – exposing the secret lives of a whole gallery of gay politicians of the last century – takes the same view. There simply is not a shred of evidence, and at present it does not appear that there is any substance to the latest allegation. Loading galleryEdward Heath - Life in pictures1 of 15PrevNextEdward HeathLeader of the British Conservative Party Edward Heath tours his constituency during the general election campaign, 1966 Getty Images Of course, child abuse is an entirely different matter from homosexuality; in the current climate, all allegations have to be investigated. But I would think it equally unlikely – if only because, unlike Jimmy Savile or Cyril Smith, Heath had little opportunity for contact with children. My understanding at the moment is that this is an investigation into why the police did not investigate it at the time – in other words an investigation into the police handling of the allegation, rather than of the allegation itself. What the media are hoping for is evidence of a cover-up. But if, as we are told, the story originated with someone already in custody, the police may well have dismissed it as a malicious fantasy dreamed up to protect himself. It is not unknown for disturbed individuals to make wild allegations against famous people, so they may well have been right to take it no further; and unless or until there is some supporting evidence, it should be treated with the same scepticism today. Read more: Edward Heath 'child sex abuse claims': Full statement by the IPCC Edward Health 'child sex claims': Wiltshire Police statement in fullIt is a distasteful consequence of recent scandals that we have become all too ready to believe anything of anyone. Unfortunately rumours of this sort tend to stick, whether there is any basis for them or not. They will stick to Ted Heath more easily than perhaps they would to others, just because there was always this prurient question mark against his sexuality. We find it difficult to believe that anyone can be genuinely asexual. But I think Heath probably was such an individual; and most of his friends and colleagues to whom I talked in researching my book agreed. I expect and hope that this allegation will prove as baseless as the other whispers that have occasionally circulated in the past. Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, MBE (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975.
Born in Kent, Heath studied at Oxford University and served in the Second World War. He was first elected to Parliament in 1950 for Bexley, and was the Chief Whip from 1955 to 1959. Entering the Cabinet as Minister of Labour in 1959, he was later promoted to Lord Privy Seal and later became President of the Board of Trade. In 1965, Heath was elected leader of the Conservative Party, retaining that position despite losing the 1966 election. Heath became Prime Minister after winning the 1970 election. In 1971 he oversaw the decimalisation of British coinage and in 1972, he reformed Britain's system of local government, reducing the number of local authorities and creating a number of new metropolitan counties. Possibly most significantly, he took Britain into the European Economic Community in 1973. Heath's Premiership also oversaw the height of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, with the suspension of the Stormont Parliament and the imposition of direct British rule. Unofficial talks with Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) delegates were unsuccessful, as was the Sunningdale Agreement of 1973, which caused the Ulster Unionist Party to withdraw from the Conservative whip. Heath also tried to curb the trade unions with the Industrial Relations Act 1971, and had hoped to deregulate the economy and make a transfer from direct to indirect taxation. However, rising unemployment in 1972 caused Heath to reflate the economy, attempting to control the resulting high inflation by a prices and incomes policy. Two miners' strikes, in 1972 and at the start of 1974, damaged the government, the latter causing the implementation of the Three-Day Week to conserve energy. Heath eventually called an election for February 1974 to obtain a mandate to face down the miners' wage demands, but this instead resulted in a hung parliament in which Labour, despite winning fewer votes, had four more seats than the Tories. Heath resigned as Prime Minister after trying in vain to form a coalition with the Liberal Party. Despite losing a second general election in October that year, Heath vowed to continue as leader of his party. In February 1975, however, his former Education Secretary Margaret Thatcher challenged and defeated Heath to win the leadership. Returning to the backbenches, Heath became an active critic of Thatcher's policies as leader and, from 1979, as Prime Minister. He remained a backbench MP until retiring in 2001, serving as the Father of the House for his last nine years in Parliament. Outside of politics, Heath was a world-class yachtsman and a musician of near-professional standard. He was also one of only four British Prime Ministers never to have married. He is now being investigated by the police on suspicion of multiple counts of child sexual abuse. Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, MBE (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975.
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AuthorBarbara Vine works for Wilsons Consultancy Investigations between offices in Bangkok, Hong Kong, London & Penang ArchivesCategoriesThe views and opinions express here are not necessarily those of Wilsons Consultancy. |