‘7 credible claims in report on Ted Heath sex abuse’
But ex-PM’s godson condemns inquiry
SIR Edward Heath’s godson last night accused a police chief of ‘acting as judge and jury’ ahead of the publication of a bombshell report into sex claims against the former premier.
Lincoln Seligman called for an independent judge to review the full findings of the £1.5million probe by Wiltshire Police and rule on Sir Edward’s guilt or innocence.
Yesterday, it was claimed that a summary of the report – due to be published on Thursday – will reveal that investigators examined 42 sex assault claims against Sir Edward as part of the two year-long Operation Conifer.
The report will allegedly say seven of the allegations are sufficiently credible to justify questioning Sir Edward under caution were he alive today.
But Mr Seligman, 67, believes the report will contain nothing but ‘innuendo’ that will forever tarnish his godfather’s legacy. He accused Wiltshire’s Chief Constable Mike Veale of ‘acting as judge and jury,’ adding that he ‘has already convicted the man’.
‘My suspicion is that we will learn nothing from the report except innuendo and that really takes nobody any further forward, except it leaves a dark stain over a man who can’t defend himself,’ he said.
‘What we are looking for is a judge-led review of a) how the police have conducted Operation Conifer and b) all the evidence it has produced.
‘We want a judge to look at that who will be independent and impartial and ... we believe the truth will exonerate him.’
Mr Seligman, whose father met Sir Edward at university, added: ‘I’m not naive...I think it would have been so difficult for him to hide anything, because he was constantly surrounded by protection officers, secretaries, his general household, that he just wouldn’t have had the opportunity.’
Investigators on Operation Conifer are understood to have examined 42 assault claims levelled at Sir Edward, including the rape of a boy. One alleged victim is said to be just 11 years old.
Some of the claims, which span his five decades as a Tory MP, are linked to sailing and allegedly occurred in Guernsey and Jersey. Two of the most serious claims allegedly took place in Wiltshire, where Sir Edward lived at his Salisbury mansion Arundells.
The inquiry, launched at the peak of the historic child abuse scandal, divides opinion. Its supporters say Mr Veale is in a painstaking battle for the truth. But critics question whether Sir Edward, who died in 2005, is a victim of bogus claims by fantasists. It is understood the inquiry rejects arguments by supporters of Sir Edward explaining why he is innocent. These include claims that Sir Edward, who was in No10 from 1970 to 1974, was asexual and was always accompanied by bodyguards.
A 100-page summary will be made public, with the full 350-page full document being passed to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.