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| Edward Heath sex abuse claims: Four police forces now investigating former Tory Prime Minister | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Four police forces are now investigating former Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath for his alleged involvement in historic child sex abuse. | |
| The Met Police has reportedly also been investigating the late Tory politician for six months as part of the Operation Midland inquiry into claims of child sex abuse by members of the establishment, the BBC reported. However, the force has said it is "not giving a running commentary" on the inquiry. | |
| Jersey Police has also confirmed it has been looking into historic allegations of child sex abuse involving Sir Edward. | |
| Kent Police is the fourth force known to be investigating him, after it was made aware of allegations of a sexual assault in the east of the country in the 1960s. | |
| News of the investigations followed an announcement by the Independent Police Complaints Commission that it was probing whether Wiltshire Police failed to pursue claims against Sir Edward in the 1990s, after a woman in charge of a brothel allegedly threatened to "expose" the politician. | |
| Having appealed for potential victims of Sir Edward to come forward, Wiltshire Police said on Tuesday afternoon that is has received a number of calls from members of the public. | |
| The force said it was unable to confirm how many people had contacted them, and the "validity" of the calls were being assessed. It added that they included a mix of "intelligence" and "third party" communications. | |
| Following Monday's allegations against Sir Edward, a man in his 60s has come forward to claim the former Prime Minister raped him when he was 12 years old. The alleged victim said he had reported the assault in 1961, but was called a "liar and a fantasist" | |
| The Jersey Police investigation was a part of the Operation Whistle inquiry into history abuse allegations on the island, which was launched in June as an arm of the UK-wide Operation Hydrant. | |
| Officers said the inquiry was coming together against the backdrop of a spike in historic abuse allegations following the 2011 death of presenter Jimmy Savile; and the 2014 launch of the independent Jersey Care Inquiry looking into alleged widespread abuse in the island's care homes. | |
| Officers in Jersey when Whistle launched that officers were investigating 45 suspects, including some who were deceased or as yet unidentified, with 13 "people of public prominence." | |
| The Sir Edward Heath Charitable Foundation said: "We welcome the investigation by Wiltshire Police, which we wholeheartedly believe will clear Sir Edward's name and we will co-operate fully with the police in their inquiries." | |
| Sir Edward, who was Prime Minister between 1970 and 1974, was known for keeping his private life out of the public eye, and did not marry. | |
| He died at home in Salisbury aged 89 in July 2005. | |
| Additional reporting by PA |