The late Sir Edward Heath, who was British prime minister between 1970 and 74, is being investigated for alleged child molestation. A man claims he was raped by the politician, when he was aged 12.
Heath, a Conservative prime minister died in 2005, aged 89.
A public inquiry in Britain is investigating whether police and other authorities covered up sexual abuse by powerful people over several decades, CBS News said.
London’s Metropolitan Police is investigating allegations of child sex abuse against former British Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath amid concerns that similar claims against him were covered by up another UK police force.
On Tuesday, the politician, who died in 2005 aged 89, was accused by a tabloid of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old boy in 1961, nine years before he led the country.
The Daily Mirror claimed a 64-year-old man, who as a child had been hitchhiking to London was picked up by Heath in his car.
The politician is said to have invited the boy to spend the night at his apartment where the alleged assault took place.
The accusations are the latest to rock the British establishment after similar child abuse allegations were made against other prominent Westminster politicians including former Home Secretary Leon Brittain and Liberal MP Cyril Smith, who have both since died.
The number of abuse claims has surged since one of the BBC’s top presenters, Jimmy Savile, was exposed as a paedophile after his death in 2011.
An earlier child sex abuse claim against Heath was made to officials in Wiltshire, a county in western England where the politician had a home. But the allegations were not investigated properly, Britain’s police watchdog revealed on Monday.
Scotland Yard confirmed on Tuesday that it had launched an investigation against the late prime minister, as part of the wider sex abuse enquiry.
Investigators in Wiltshire called for other potential victims of the politician to come forward as supporters of the late prime minister leapt to his defence.
One friend said the claims were “hard to believe,” describing Heath’s private life as “very controlled.”
Meanwhile, a US journalist revealed that she was expelled from Britain in 2011 while investigating sex abuse claims against Heath and other prominent figures.
Leah McGarth Goodman, who worked for Newsweek, told LBC radio it was alleged that Heath would take children from care homes for rides on his yacht.
As prime minister, Heath took Britain into the European Economic Community in 1973. After a bitter leadership contest, he was succeeded as head of Britain’s Conservative Party by Margaret Thatcher. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1992.
No comments:
Post a Comment