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Former music mogul Joinathan King is understood to have been arrested on suspicion of historical child sex offences.

King, 70, was believed to be one of three men held in dawn raids by detectives investigating allegations of abuse at the Walton Hop teenage disco in Surrey in the 1970s and 80s.

Two unnamed men aged 77 and 86, both from Walton-on-Thames in the county, were tonight being quizzed along with a 70-year-old from Bayswater, central London.

A Surrey police spokesman said specialist officers were searching their home addresses.

Detective Chief Inspector Karen Mizzi, said: “This is a complex investigation into numerous allegations of sexual abuse and assault dating back over several decades.

“Our investigation focuses on the Walton Hop Disco, a popular event for youngsters between the 1970s and 1980s and we are following a number of lines of enquiry.

(Image: PA)

"However if anyone has information that may help the investigation I would ask them to contact us.”

King, a former chart-topping star and TV producer, recently has in the past launched an attack on current high profile investigations into historical child abuse claims.

He wrote on his website “King of Hits” on Sunday: “We see these pathetic stories crumbling, started by mentally unstable characters in a fantasy world wanting attention, sympathy, believing their own stories.”

One of King's former neighbours said she had been told by a current resident of his Bayswater Mews home that police had been searching a property there.

The arrests come ten months after Surrey police announced a review into its previous operation into the Walton Hop youth club in Walton-on-Thames which ended in 2001.

Surrey police launched Operation Ravine in late 2014 following a review by Merseyside Police into Operation Arundel which began in 2000.

(Image: Getty)

A police statement said: “Surrey Police has today made three arrests as part of Operation Ravine, the ongoing investigation into allegations of sexual offences against children connected to the Walton Hop Disco in Walton-on-Thames, in the 1970s and 1980s.

"All three men were arrested on suspicion of various sexual offences concerning boys under the age of 16.

"They are a 77-year-old man and an 86-year-old from Walton-on-Thames and a 70-year-old man from the Bayswater area of London.”

King had worked on BBC shows such as No Limits and The Great British Song Contest.

His 1965 single "Everyone's Gone to the Moon" reached number four in the UK and number 17 in America.

King also discovered and named Genesis and produced the Bay City Rollers first hit.

Anyone who has information should contact Surrey police on 01483 636485 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.