Frightening pattern of behavior: Investigators say "credible" rape claims have been made against former British PM Ted Heath

RT
Mon, 25 Sep 2017 15:18 UTC

Pedophile Minister Ted Heath.

Former British Prime Minister Edward Heath is accused of rape by seven alleged victims who police found to be "credible," reports suggest.

A fresh investigation into the ex-Tory PM, who died in 2005 aged 89, will look into dozens of allegations of abuse spanning five decades.

Many accounts of alleged abuse by Heath, who was in Downing Street from 1970 to 1974, have been doubted - including from one accuser who was labeled a "fantasist."

Reports have emerged that at least one person will be charged for wasting police time.

However, the investigation has unearthed reports which showed a frightening pattern of behavior, the Mail on Sunday reports.

Wiltshire Police would have enough evidence to warrant interviewing the former leader under caution, were he alive to face investigation.

If proven, the accounts would give weight to the inquiry led by Chief Constable Mike Veale after a raft of criticism from Heath's friends and former colleagues.

Officers have been accused of wasting £2 million (US$2.7 million) on a "fantasy."

The Operation Conifer team, investigating Heath, is currently made up of more than 20 police officers.

MP for North Wiltshire James Gray said Wiltshire Police's probe had been a "pretty pointless investigation," according to the Daily Mail.

Findings from the operation looking into allegations against Heath will be published on October 5.

Comment: More on the investigation:

• Pedophilia investigation against former UK PM could be buried
• Joining the club: Ex-British PM Ted Heath accused of raping 12-yo boy
• Bombshell report: Police confirm former UK Prime Minister raped dozens of children and the government covered it up
• £1mn child abuse inquiry into ex-PM Edward Heath closed due to 'lack of evidence', Chief Constable under pressure to resign

UPDATE (Sept. 27): Details on the questioning of Heath's staff:

Staff of former Prime Minister Edward Heath have been asked whether he smuggled children in and out of Downing Street while he was in power, it was claimed on Monday.

The ex-Tory leader's former staff was questioned as part of an inquiry into child sex abuse allegations made against Heath.

The inquiry is understood to have questioned whether or not it was feasible that the former Conservative leader smuggled children into No.10.

Heath's principal private secretary, Lord Armstrong of Ilminster, who was among those interviewed said, according to the Times: "If there is one place where slipping in and out is not easy, it is No 10 Downing Street."

Detectives also sought to discover whether Heath, who died in 2005 aged 89, had left any wills in an attempt to uncover any suspicious legacy, but none was found.

Armstrong, one of Heath's closest advisers, and who has previously said the former PM was "completely asexual," accused Wiltshire Police of undertaking a "fishing expedition," and has called for an independent review of the inquiry's findings.