Former PM Heath accused of child abuse in Jersey

Wednesday 05 August 2015

Jersey Police have confirmed that they are one of five police forces investigating child abuse allegations about former UK Prime Minister Sir Ted Heath.

In a statement yesterday that has made headlines across the national press, Jersey's police force confirmed that they are investigating abuse allegations against the former Tory PM, who died in 2005 at the age of 89.

Police in Wiltshire - where Heath lived - were the first to name him as an alleged abuser, and they have since said that their statement has prompted more people to come forward with evidence and claims in the last 24 hours.

Kent Police, the Hampshire Force and the IPCC, which handles complaints against the police, are also investigating claims against the former PM.

The Jersey investigation is part of “Operation Whistle” – a new probe launched in June into child abuse in Jersey by more than 45 suspects, 13 of whom have been previously been described by police as “of public prominence”. Police are now saying that Heath is one of those "high profile" alleged abusers.

But they won't make any further public statements on the investigation until next month, when they will give a full public update on progress in the investigation.

The operation involves a dedicated team of six detectives under the leadership of Detective Superintendent Stewart Gull - the detective who caught Suffolk Strangler Steve Wright, who is serving life for the murders of five women in 2006.

The Independent Jersey Care Inquiry, which has been hearing evidence from abuse survivors, alleged abusers and people who worked in the care service in Jersey for more than a year now has not heard any evidence that Ted Heath was one of the abusers.

But the news that Ted Heath is one of the people being investigated follows days of speculation that he was being investigated for abusing children.

The former Conservative Party leader - who served as PM between 1965 and 1975 - never married, and worked as a civil servant and journalist before serving in the House of Commons from 1950 to 2001.

A statement from the Jersey police yesterday afternoon said: “The States of Jersey Police can confirm that they are aware of the UK Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigation into historical corruption allegations relating to child sexual abuse in Wiltshire.

“Sir Edward Heath does feature as part of Operation Whistle, currently investigating historical allegations of abuse in Jersey.

“The SoJP continue to work in collaboration with their UK-based Operation Hydrant counterparts.”

A statement made by the Independent Police Complaints Commission earlier in the day confirmed an investigation into whether Wiltshire Police took steps to investigate allegations that were made against Health while he was still alive.

The statement said: "The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is to investigate allegations concerning Wiltshire Police’s handling of an alleged claim of child sexual abuse made in the 1990s.

"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."