BRITAIN-ABUSE/HEATH Police probe former British PM Heath over child sex abuse claims - media reports

Record ID: 145199

  • Title: BRITAIN-ABUSE/HEATH Police probe former British PM Heath over child sex abuse claims - media reports
  • Date: 4th August 2015
  • Summary: LONDON, UK (AUGUST 4, 2015) (REUTERS) (MUTE) NEWSPAPERS WITH HEADLINES ABOUT INVESTIGATIONS INTO CHILD SEX ABUSE BY FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER, EDWARD HEATH
  • Embargoed: 19th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA5QQ845O8NPL7DQ1CMIDD0MCY0
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: British media reported on Tuesday (August 4) that London's Metropolitan police are investigating the late former Prime Minister Edward Heath, as part of a wide range inquiry into claims of historical child sex abuse.
    The former PM is one of a number of prominent names being looked at by detectives.
    Separately, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is investigating allegations that police failed to pursue a complaint of child sexual abuse made against Heath.
    On Monday (August 3) the editor-in-chief of investigative website Exaro, Mark Watts, said his organisation wasn't shocked at the news.
    "We at Exaro are not altogether surprised by the statement put out by the IPCC about Sir Edward Heath, in the sense that we weren't surprised that he was a person of interest in the wide ranging police and IPCC investigations into allegations of paedophilia amongst people in positions of power, and certainly has been a person of interest in our investigations at Exaro," he said.
    "I think what the authorities are trying to say is: 'we know we have a problem' and it looks like they might be prepared to do something about it. I mean they're being dragged kicking and screaming by the likes of the exposures that we've done at Exaro, but I think today is about signalling 'we're serious about this'," he added.
    Heath was Prime Minister between 1970 and 1974 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975 when he lost the leadership to Margaret Thatcher. He died in 2005 at the age of 89.
    The acting chairman of the Sir Edward Heath Charitable Foundation, Wilf Weeks, said they were fully cooperating with the investigation.
    "Gobsmacked, really. Because if you're a figure like Sir Edward you're guarded all the time. For example when he lived in Arundells, nobody went to see him without having to be cleared by police," he said.
    The IPCC said the claim of child sexual abuse had been made to Wiltshire police in southwest England, where Heath lived for much of his life. It gave no details of the alleged abuse nor of the complainant.
    The IPCC will also examine whether Wiltshire Police subsequently took any steps to investigate the claims.
    Wiltshire police said it was carrying out enquiries to identify if there are any witnesses or victims who support the allegations of child sex abuse.
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