Judge to review ‘witch-hunt’ sex abuse inquiry into former PM

THE retired High Court judge who produced a damning report into Scotland Yard’s child sex abuse inquiry is to review the investigation into Sir Edward Heath, The Daily Telegraph understands.

Sir Richard Henriques is being lined up to report on Wiltshire Police’s twoyear probe into the late former prime minister, who has been the subject of a number of paedophile allegations.

Operation Conifer, which was launched in August 2015, has already cost in excess of £1million, and is yet to produce any concrete evidence to support the claims.

Mike Veale, the Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police, who has been under intense pressure to justify the investigation, has pledged to produce a report on his findings later this year.

But the Telegraph understands that Sir Richard will be brought in to review the investigation in the coming weeks to provide some independent scrutiny.

Mr Veale had wanted Alexis Jay, who is chairing the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse, to review the case, but she refused.

A meeting between Angus Macpherson, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire, Mr Veale and supporters of Sir Edward is due to take place in two weeks, after which Sir Richard is expected to be appointed. Critics of Operation Conifer have branded it a “witch-hunt” that has caused untold damage to the reputation of the former prime minister, who is no longer alive to defend himself.

One of his supporters told the Telegraph: “For almost two years the memory and reputation of Sir Edward Heath has been dragged through the mud and we have seen nothing to suggest any of this has been justified.

“The concern is that once the investigation is complete, Wiltshire Police will simply produce a redacted report which says, ‘we have concluded that Ted Heath was a paedophile, but we can’t tell you why’. By getting someone like Sir Richard to look at the investigation from top to bottom, we can at least have some peace of mind that everything is above board.”

Sir Richard was brought in by Sir Bernard Hogan-howe, the former Met police commissioner, to review Operation Midland, its disastrous probe into a VIP child abuse ring. In his findings he identified more than 40 areas of concern and criticised senior Scotland Yard detectives for believing the single complainant from the outset.

The alleged victim, who can only be identified as Nick, was described by one officer as “credible and true”.

But he is now being investigated on suspicion of perverting the course of justice, after he was exposed as a fantasist.

His complaints against Sir Edward are understood to form part of the Operation Conifer evidence.