The former prostitute and convicted criminal who allegedly sparked the Edward Heath child abuse scandal has said that the former Prime Minister was “not a paedophile…just an old, sad, gay man”.

Myra Ling-Ling Forde, 67, the former Salisbury brothel owner who is alleged to have escaped prosecution in 1992 by stating she would expose the former Prime Minister as a sex offender, yesterday said she found him "company, and he was happy."

“You know, he’s not a paedophile, he’s not a paedophile. He never asked me for young children, and I never [supplied] anybody [with] young boys,” she told Channel 4 News. “I’d like to put it straight that he’s not a paedophile. He’s just an old, sad, gay man.”

The motives of Ms Forde, who was jailed in 1995 and 2009 for running a brothel in Salisbury, near the home of the former Prime Minister, remain unclear. Shortly after allegations against the former Prime Minister surfaced, Ms Forde released a statement through her solicitor that she had “no involvement with Ted Heath of any kind” – a position that appears to have changed.

Edward Heath - Life in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Edward Heath - Life in pictures Edward Heath - Life in pictures Edward Heath Leader of the British Conservative Party Edward Heath tours his constituency during the general election campaign, 1966 Edward Heath - Life in pictures Edward Heath British Conservative Party politician and amateur musician, Edward Heath conducting the annual carol concert at the Grand Ballroom, Broadstairs, Kent, in December 1963 Edward Heath - Life in pictures Edward Heath Conservative Party leader Mr Edward Heath holds up with pride the new Conservative election manifesto entitled 'A Better Tomorrow' at a press conference in London, 1970 Edward Heath - Life in pictures Edward Heath British prime minister Edward Heath chatting with US president Richard Nixon at Chequers in Buckinghamshire Edward Heath - Life in pictures Edward Heath British Prime Minister Edward Heath, skipper of the British team for the Admiral Cup Series with his team aboard the yacht 'Morning Cloud' at Southsea, Hampshire, 1971 Edward Heath - Life in pictures Edward Heath In 1974 the Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath, left, was ousted from Downing Street when Harold Wilson, right, formed a minority Labour government Getty Edward Heath - Life in pictures Edward Heath Ted Heath leaves Downing Street to hand in his resignation, 1974 Getty Edward Heath - Life in pictures Edward Heath British Prime Minister Edward Heath announces the date of the General Election, 1974 Edward Heath - Life in pictures Edward Heath Deposed Conservative party leader Edward Heath with his successor Margaret Thatcher, 1975 Edward Heath - Life in pictures Edward Heath Former Prime Minister Edward Heath at his home in 1975 Getty Images Edward Heath - Life in pictures Edward Heath At the Conservative Party Conference (L-R), Mr Edward Heath, MP for Bexley, Mr Francis Pym, Leader of the House of Commons, and Mr William Whitelaw, Home Secretary, applaud a colleague's speech, 1981 Edward Heath - Life in pictures Edward Heath Edward Heath at his home in Salisbury in 1980s Edward Heath - Life in pictures Edward Heath Edward Heath bids farwell to Chia Chia the panda, London Zoo, 1988 Edward Heath - Life in pictures Edward Heath British prime minister Sir Edward Heath, appearing before the US Senate armed committee on the situation in the Persian Gulf, 1990 Getty Edward Heath - Life in pictures Edward Heath Sir Edward Heath arrives at No.10 Downing Street for a dinner hosted by Prime Minister Tony Blair in London, 2002

A decision about the scale of the police inquiry into Mr Heath is expected as early as this week.

More than five police forces are now thought to be probing claims that the former Tory prime minister was involved in offences against children – allegations that late politicians friends and families strenuously deny.

Claims against Sir Edward, who died in 2005 aged 89, were made public earlier this month when the Independent Police Complaint Commission (IPCC) announced it was investigating Wiltshire Police over an alleged cover-up dating back to the early Nineties.