Investigation into former PM Sir Edward Heath

"A £1 million ($1.25mn) taxpayer funded child abuse investigation into former Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath has been closed by police, reportedly due to a lack of evidence."

"The inquiry, codenamed Operation Conifer, will be closed in the coming weeks, but the report on its findings will remain confidential, the Telegraph reports."

"The huge bill has been criticized as a waste of taxpayer money since it was launched in August of 2015. Police have also been slammed for damaging the reputation of the late ex-PM, who cannot go on trial."

"According to sources who spoke to the newspaper, private investigators that were hired by police to help conduct the inquiry have been told that their contracts will not be renewed..."

"Friends of Heath, who died in 2005 aged 89, insist that the inquiry found no evidence implicating the Tory politician, saying the questions police put to his former staff members and sailing friends were so lacking in detail that there appeared to be no hard evidence."

"The investigation was launched after at least seven allegations of child sex abuse were brought against Heath, including one claiming that the former Tory MP abused a boy on his yacht before throwing him overboard."

"Heath was also examined in a now defunct investigation into a suspected VIP paedophile ring at the heart of Westminster dubbed Operation Midland."

https://www.rt.com/uk/381383-edward-heath-investigation-pedophile/

So that is RT reporting on the Telegraph report.

The UK Column News took the story up on Tuesday 21 March by referring to the Mail on Sunday and calling it a false article. [about 42.27 minutes] The investigation into former PM Sir Edward Heath has NOT been closed.

"A source for UK Column spoke to the police who said this was not true," Gerrish informed viewers. "So we have something that the police are saying is untrue but then we notice this in another Daily Mail article:"

"Yesterday, Lord Armstrong, the former Cabinet Secretary and Sir Edward`s principal private secretary from 1970 to 1974, said: `I simply don`t understand how the Chief Constable got himself into such a position.`"

"So the Daily Mail are helping the former Private Secretary of Mr Heath to gently undermine the police investigation."

 

Brian Gerrish points to another article in the Mail in Scotland from a couple of years ago which reports:  "`Mandarin who can`t help being economical with truth: Lord Armstrong at centre of accusations of child abuse cover-up.`  And basically what this story is about is this gentleman working with MI5 -  bring in the security services again - and what were they doing?  They were pushing the child abuse under the carpet in order to protect the state."

"So this is some of the comment from that article:"

"Lord Armstrong - who was Margaret Thatcher`s Cabinet Secretary for eight years - is now at the centre of accusations of a major establishment cover-up of child abuse by leading public figures in the 1970s and 1980s."

"It has been revealed that he was urged by MI5 to help hush-up abuse allegations against a senior MP so as to avoid political embarrassment for the Thatcher government."

"Even today, despite years of official investigations into the claims and a top-level review into the loss of hundreds of Home Office files relating to the original allegations, Armstrong defiantly refuses to identify the suspect politician or even say if he is alive or dead."

"So I`m going to put a label on that and say: why does the Daily Mail want to use this man to help undermine a police child abuse investigation?"

"Any clues Mike?"

"And indeed they seem to be undermining their own reporters. There`s a difference...between the Daily Mail and the Mail in Scotland."

 

Gerrish then reads from a letter by Robert Green to Mr Paul Dacre, Editor of the Daily Mail.

"With regard to previous correspondence, I was disturbed to read today of yet another attack on Chief Constable Mike Veale by your crime correspondent, Rebecca Camber."

"It was of great concern on two counts."

"First, the article quotes the opinion of Lord Armstrong, who clearly seeks to undermine the competence of the Chief Constable. It was a curious choice by Ms Camber to quote Lord Armstrong as less than two years ago, the Scottish Daily Mail published a withering attack on this individual for his apparent attempts to cover up child abuse by another senior Conservative MP, Sir Peter Morrison. I am sure that your readers may have formed a different view of Lord Armstrong`s attack on the Chief Constable had details of the Mail`s earlier article been revealed."

"Secondly and possibly even more seriously, Wiltshire Police has confirmed that the Daily Mail has indulged in fake news: the investigation into Edward Heath has not been called off."

In the next paragraph there is a reminder that Tim Fortescue MP, Chief Whip to Edward Heath, admitted covering-up for Members of Parliament who were child abusers.

"Finally, I have provided expert witness evidence regarding Edward Heath and others that has been accepted by Wiltshire Police. Included in those named are two of your most senior journalists."

"The reputation of your newspapers could hardly be at more risk over this issue. I trust that the readers will be treated to more balanced and truthful journalism over this issue in future."

etc

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21 March is World Down Syndrome Day

It was not forgotten by the UK Column team that there has been no support for Hollie Greig, the down syndrome girl who was abused in Aberdeenshire.

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