Senior Heath aide was not interviewed in child abuse inquiry

THE two-year historic child abuse inquiry into Sir Edward Heath was plunged into disarray last night when it emerged police had failed to interview a key aide who ran his private office.

Lord Sherbourne told The Daily Telegraph he was “astonished” that officers had not bothered to contact him over allegations that the former prime minister was a paedophile.

A second Downing Street aide, who asked not to be named, was only interviewed two days ago even though the Wiltshire Police report is due to be published on Thursday.

Leaks of the report suggest police will say that some of the allegations would have merited interviewing Heath were he still alive. But friends say it is ludicrous to investigate a dead man who cannot defend himself – yet fail to contact all his aides who will testify to his innocence.

Critics of Operation Conifer, which has cost at least £1.5million, have described as a “shambles” the failure to question some of Heath’s diary keepers either at all or very late in the day.

Lord Sherbourne ran Heath’s private office for 18 months from March 1975 when he quit as Tory leader. He kept a detailed daily diary of the former prime minister’s activities.

Lord Sherbourne said: “I’m astonished the police have not spoken to me as I was running his office for that period of time.

“I knew his minute by minute, day to day life. All his day was completely planned out. I would have thought the police would have wanted to interview me as I knew his movements every day. Heath wanted to know exactly what he was doing at any given moment, even after he left office. Having worked with him and known him I find these stories absolutely ludicrous.”

The peer added: “Did we ever hear any rumours about Ted Heath at the time? Never, and he was a prime target for rumour as an unmarried man. But there were absolutely none.”

A second aide, who was involved in running Heath’s diary as leader of the Opposition and then in Downing Street was only interviewed on Wednesday. The aide told police he had no suspicions about Heath’s behaviour.

Metropolitan Police officers were criticised for taking 10 months to question Field Marshall Lord Bramall’s former military assistant and 11 months to question his aide de camp as part of its catastrophic investigation into false VIP paedophile claims made by a fantasist who accused Heath of abusing him.

The Wiltshire inquiry was launched with an appeal outside Heath’s home in Aug 2015 for “victims” to come forward. Dozens of complainants made allegations but most were dismissed as fantasists or else unstable.