On Tuesday (August 4) a man contacted police who claimed he was 12 when he was raped by former Prime Minister Sir Edward.
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Asked about why Sir Edward was named, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said: “I’m not going to comment on that”.
“We must remember that Ted Heath was never even questioned about these allegations and it might be that the police at the time felt that the allegations were so unreliable as to dismiss them – as they do, of course, with many allegations made”, he said.
The new allegations come a month after a judge-led inquiry was opened into child sexual abuse at a range of British institutions following a string of convictions involving high-profile figures.
It has also emerged the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA) will consider allegations against Sir Edward “should the facts justify it”.
“The decision for the case to proceed no further was mine and was based on the lack of evidence and had nothing whatsoever to do with any potential allegations against Edward Heath”, Seed said.
The force said: “We are investigating allegations, we have nothing further to add at this stage”.
Scotland Yard said it “does not provide a running commentary on Operation Midland”. Sir Edward died at home in Salisbury aged 89 in July 2005.
Another allegation against Heath came from a man who claimed he was raped as a 12-year-old by the politician in 1961.
But, contrary to a claim by a retired Wiltshire police officer, Seed said he dropped the case because the three witnesses in the case refused to give evidence.
Sir Ted, who died in 2005, was Conservative Prime Minister from 1970 until 1974.
However, Heath’s name has been passed to Operation Midland, the police inquiry investigating a “VIP pedophile network”, which allegedly operated throughout Westminster in the 1970s and 1980s.
Forde, a Filipino, was later convicted on two separate occasions of offences related to running a brothel from a residential property in Salisbury.
Shortly after, Jersey, Kent and Hampshire police forces confirmed they, too, were investigating claims against the former Tory leader.
Meanwhile, officers in North Yorkshire said they were checking records for any mention of Sir Edward after a photograph emerged of him meeting Peter Jaconelli, a suspected paedophile and friend of Jimmy Savile. The force said in a statement: “The investigation team will be reviewing the information and following up any lines of inquiry as a result”.
Sir Bernard said: “We try and be consistent”.
Richard Griffiths, of Richard Griffiths & Co Solicitors, told the Salisbury Journal: “My firm acted for Myra Forde in relation to the case which the prosecution discontinued on the day of the trial and which has been the subject of a great deal of speculation”.
The force said it had received a number of calls after issuing the appeal.
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In a statement released through her solicitor on Wednesday Forde insisted she had no involvement with the former prime minister and “no knowledge of any misconduct on his part”.
