The investigation dealt with 42 claims in total.
Allegations that former Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath raped and indecently assaulted boys were sufficiently credible to justify questioning him under caution were he alive today, a Wiltshire Police inquiry has concluded.
As reported by PA, Wiltshire Police state that seven allegations against Heath between 1961 and 1992 warrant further questioning but the report “does not apportion… suggest or conclude guilt”
Wiltshire Police says seven allegations against Heath between 1961 and 1992 warrant further questioning but the report "does not apportion… suggest or conclude guilt"
— PA Media (@PA) October 5, 2017
The report found that these seven claims were sufficiently credible to justify interviewing the former Conservative Prime Minister under caution – if he were alive.
After the former Conservative prime minister was accused of historical child sex abuse, Operation Conifer was launched and has received 42 claims in total. The timeframe of the alleged offenses spanned from 1956 to 1992 – while Heath was an elected MP.
In a statement, Heath’s former cabinet secretary, Lord Armstrong of Ilminster, and chairman of the Sir Edward Heath Charitable Foundation, Lord Hunt of Wirral, said the report neither justifies or dispels the “the cloud of suspicion”.
“All those who knew Sir Edward Heath or worked with him are, without exception, convinced that the allegations of child abuse will all be found to be groundless,” it said.
Heath passed away in July, 2005, aged 89.
