Heath paedophile allegation findings will go to national child sex abuse probe

By Henry Vaughan21st August 2017News EnglandChild Abuse, Edward Heath, News England, Non-Recent / Historic Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Wiltshire

The police force investigating allegations former prime minister Sir Edward Heath was a paedophile will pass its findings to the national child sex abuse inquiry.

The Wiltshire Police probe, called Operation Conifer, was launched in 2015 after Sir Edward was named as a suspect in an investigation into historical child sex abuse.

The force said it is expected to come to an end in the autumn, while a spokesman confirmed the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), chaired by Professor Alexis Jay, has already been briefed on the investigation.

There are currently 13 arms to the inquiry, scrutinising areas of public life ranging from local authorities to Westminster for child-protection failings.

A Wiltshire Police spokesman said: “We have briefed IICSA and we will make available to them our report such that they can consider it relative to the terms of reference of the public inquiry.”

The force has been criticised publicly for the investigation, which last week a spokesman said had entered its final stages.

In April, police said two people arrested in connection with child protection issues had been released without charge.

Last year, the probe found no evidence that a prosecution against a brothel keeper was dropped because of threats to allege publicly that Sir Edward had been involved in sexual offences.

Sir Edward, who led the Conservative government from 1970 to 1974, died at home in Salisbury in July 2005, aged 89.

In December, the chief constable of Wiltshire Police, Mike Veale, wrote a public letter to “set the record straight” about the investigation.

He described the former Conservative prime minister as an “extremely prominent, influential and high-profile person” and said the decision to undertake the “incredibly complex and challenging investigation” was “not taken lightly”.

Mr Veale said the probe was “complex and multi-stranded” and was “not a fishing trip or witch hunt”.

He stressed he took his responsibilities of operational independence “very seriously” and said he would not be “buckling under pressure not to investigate or to conclude the investigation prematurely”.