London: British police have launched a public appeal for victims to come forward after allegations emerged of child sexual abuse by the late former prime minister, Sir Edward Heath.
The appeal was made as the police watchdog announced that it was investigating claims that officers dropped a prosecution against a man in the 1990s after he threatened to name Heath as a child abuser.
The Guardian has also learnt that detectives have spoken to a man, now middle-aged, who says he was abused as a child by Heath on several occasions.
Wiltshire police made the appeal for “anyone who believes they may have been a victim” of the former Conservative leader to come forward.
The allegations against Heath, who died in 2005 aged 89, come amid a flurry of claims of establishment figures sexually abusing children, with their crimes being covered up.
Heath was unmarried and his private life has attracted speculation, some of which was lurid.
Detectives from Wiltshire police in western England, where the former prime minister had a home close to Salisbury Cathedral, are now leading inquiries about whether he was involved in child sexual abuse.
Officers from the London Metropolitan Police spoke to a man who came forward more than two years ago and claims he was a victim of Heath when he was a teenager.
The inquiries by London police were not announced publicly, but Labour MP Tom Watson said: “I received information in 2012 concerning allegations of child abuse carried out by Edward Heath”, adding that the claims were passed to police and were “being investigated and taken seriously”.
Supt. Sean Memory spoke on Monday about claims made by a former senior officer in Wiltshire that the threat of Heath being named in connection with child sexual abuse led to a prosecution being dropped against another man.
Speaking outside Heath’s former home, Memory said: “The allegation is that a trial was due to take place in the 1990s and information was received in that trial that Sir Ted Heath was involved in the abuse of children and the allegation is from the result of that information that the trial never took place.
“A retired senior police officer has come forward towards the end of 2014 indicating that they were aware of this information. “So between then and March this year we have worked tirelessly to establish the facts of that allegation to a point where in March [2015] we have made a mandatory referral to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, who are leading the investigation into whether we did in fact mishandle that case in the 1990s.
“This is an appeal for victims: in particular, if you have been the victim of any crime from Sir Ted Heath or any historical sexual offence, or you are a witness or you have any information about this, then please come forward.”
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said it would investigate the cover-up claims and what Wiltshire police did to investigate the claims about Heath.
The man who threatened to name Heath is believed to have been charged with a serious offence, though not to do with child sexual abuse, and was due to stand trial at a crown court.
He was not a political or establishment figure. The IPCC inquiry will look at whether there is any truth to the claims he made the threat and whether that affected the outcome of his criminal case.
The former officer making the allegations of cover-up was a constable at the time, and rose through the ranks, reaching the rank of inspector or above.
The IPCC will have to seek information from the Crown Prosecution Service, over which it has no formal powers.
In a statement, the IPCC said: “It is alleged that a criminal prosecution was not pursued, when a person threatened to expose that Sir Edward Heath may have been involved in offences concerning children. In addition to this allegation, the IPCC will examine whether Wiltshire police subsequently took any steps to investigate these claims. The allegations were referred to the IPCC by Wiltshire police following allegations made by a retired senior officer.”
In a statement, 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 cooperate fully with the police in their inquiries.”
Supt Memory said of Wiltshire police’s inquiry into the former prime minister: “We are working closely with the NSPCC. I have a number of staff trained to deal with sexual offences waiting for any calls that come forward.
“Any calls that we do receive will be treated with the utmost confidence.”
The force added: “Whether abuse happened in the past, or is occurring today, whether those being accused are authority figures or not, allegations of crimes against children must be investigated thoroughly.”
The government has set up the Goddard inquiry to investigate the scale of child sexual abuse and of establishment cover-up.
