Lurid allegations of ‘satanic orgies’
THE police investigation into Sir Edward Heath was controversial from the very beginning.
Superintendent Sean Memory stood outside the gates of Arundells, the late PM’s home in Salisbury, to declare in a televised statement that ‘anyone who believes they may have been a victim’ should come forward.
Wiltshire Police has since acknowledged this was inappropriate, while Mr Memory is now on sick leave and being investigated for misconduct over an unrelated matter.
The original claim under investigation was that the trial of a brothel keeper had collapsed because she threatened to reveal how she procured boys for Heath.
But the Independent Police Complaints Commission watchdog later said there was no evidence of a cover-up. More than a dozen people came forward to make claims against Heath, who died in 2005 and had been widely regarded as ‘completely asexual’ by friends.
Detectives were accused of going on a ‘fishing expedition’ by interviewing former Downing Street staff, Heath’s yacht crew and even the editor of Private Eye magazine, which had published jokes about ‘Sailor Heath’.
The most contentious allegation, however, was that Heath was linked to a network of paedophiles who held satanic orgies and stabbed children in churches.
The lurid claims were dismissed as fantasy by an expert in ritual abuse cases. Dr Rachel Hoskins concluded they were false memories unearthed in therapy. She was also alarmed to discover that detectives were studying the discredited statements made by a man known only as ‘Nick’, who had falsely accused military chiefs and MPs, including Heath, of being part of a murderous VIP sex ring.
After The Mail on Sunday revealed the astonishing allegations, Wiltshire Chief Constable Mike Veale strongly defended his investigation. Earlier this year this newspaper told how Mr Veale is convinced the claims against Heath are ‘120 per cent’ genuine.
The number of alleged victims to come forward has risen to more than 30 and some of their accounts are ‘strikingly similar’.
Because Heath is dead and cannot stand trial, his guilt can never be proven in a criminal court, and it is likely the controversy over the accusations will continue long after Operation Conifer finishes its work.