Wiltshire police investigated allegations of sex attacks made by 40 individuals against Edward Heath and concluded that, had the former prime minister still been alive, seven were serious enough to merit questioning him under caution.



The earliest allegation dates back to 1956 when Heath was an up-and-coming backbench MP; the last to 1992 by which time he would have been one of the best-known political figures in Britain, albeit one whose premiership ended in 1974.

Of the seven alleged offences deemed most credible by police, the victims were five boys and two men. The first is said to have taken place in 1961, when Heath allegedly raped and indecently assaulted an 11-year-old boy during what police said was a paid sexual encounter at a private home in London.

In around 1964, by which time Heath was trade secretary, he allegedly indecently assaulted a 15-year-old boy during three paid sexual encounters in London and Sussex.

He was leader of the Tory party at the time of the next alleged offence, although on this occasion police said it happened almost at random. In 1967, in Guernsey, he allegedly indecently assaulted a 15-year-old boy not known to him in private during a chance encounter in a public building. The next alleged offence took place in 1976 in Jersey.



In around 1992, when Heath was father of the house, he allegedly indecently assaulted a man after consent was withdrawn in a sexual encounter in a Wiltshire hotel.

If Heath had been alive, he would have been interviewed under caution in order to obtain his account in relation to the seven allegations. The report states the final of the seven allegations was potentially undermined by information the police have.

The report emphasises: “Where it is concluded that, if he had still been alive, Sir Edward Heath would have been interviewed under caution to gain an account, it is emphasised that his account would be as important as other evidence gathered as part of the wider investigation.

“Accordingly, it is critical to stress that no inference of guilt should be drawn from the fact that Sir Edward Heath would have been interviewed under caution.

“It is clearly inappropriate to speculate what Sir Edward Heath’s response would have been in relation to the allegations put to him under caution in an interview. His account would have informed the next stages of the investigation strategy and investigators would have looked to check and test his account against the other available evidence.

“In the case of a living suspect, at the conclusion of the police investigation, the SIO [senior investigating officer] would consider all available evidence and make a decision as to whether to submit a case file to the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service]. Thereafter, if relevant, the CPS would consider whether there was sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges.”

Many other allegations were not treated as credible. Six male victims made controversial allegations that Heath was involved in satanic or ritual abuse. No corroborative evidence was found and police did not take them seriously.

Five accusations were made of Heath committing serious crimes aboard yachts including allegations of murdering children, as well as of child sexual abuse. Heath owned five yachts between 1969 and 1984, all named Morning Cloud. Again, Operation Conifer officers found no supporting information or credible evidence to support the disclosures.

In addition, three victims made claims of organised paedophile activity within military settings. Two of those disclosures named Heath as a perpetrator. The report does not spell out what became of these allegations.

During the investigation, a former colleague claimed Heath was “completely asexual”, the report says. Witnesses who were interviewed by investigators from Operation Conifer offered “different opinions” about Heath’s sexuality. However two witnesses, who have not disclosed abuse, provided evidence that he was sexually active with consenting adults during parts of his life.

The investigation had begun in 2014 when a retired Wiltshire police officer expressed concerns that a crown court trial had been discontinued in the mid 1990s to prevent a defendant from claiming in public they had been involved in the “supply of young boys to Sir Edward Heath”.

The inference was that Wiltshire police was complicit in covering up alleged child sexual abuse by the former prime minister. Wiltshire police launched a criminal investigation – Operation Marble – into whether there was any evidence that the original defendant had supplied young boys to Heath.

On 3 August 2015, the police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Commission released a statement that it had started an investigation into Wiltshire police over the discontinuance of the court case in 1994. For the first time, the existence of an allegation against Heath was released into the public domain.

Over the next two weeks, 118 people contacted Wiltshire police, other forces and agencies with information concerning Heath and, on 25 August, Operation Conifer was launched.

Wiltshire police said the investigation was hindered by the passage of time. For example, it was impossible to obtain any forensic evidence from alleged victims. It is thought that Heath had a mobile phone but all relevant communications data would have been lawfully destroyed.

Among those officers interviewed were adults who, as young vulnerable teenagers, had been “employed” as sex workers by the manager of a brothel in Wiltshire.

This strand of investigation identified one victim who disclosed alleged sexual abuse by Heath. Three further and unconnected male sex workers also disclosed sexual abuse allegedly committed by the former prime minister.

Officers spoke to scores of people who worked closely with Heath. They interviewed 28 close protection officers who had guarded the former prime minister. Heath had limited and temporary close protection (CP) in 1968 after threats were made against him and full CP arrangements while he was prime minister.

CP was withdrawn when he left Downing Street in 1974 and permanently reintroduced after a bomb was found beneath his car in December 1975.

Drivers were also spoken to. Heath had a government driver from immediately before his election as prime minister in 1970 almost continuously to the time of his death in 2005, but there were also times when he travelled alone.

One account given by a driver confirmed Heath frequented a location where a victim disclosed that they had initially met the politician. This victim’s disclosure is one for which Heath would have been interviewed under caution if he were alive.

Officers also spoke to staff at his former home, Arundells in Cathedral Close, Salisbury, and to private office staff and nurses but they did not provide evidence linking him to child sexual abuse. Police also spoke to government departments including the Home Office and Foreign Office and to security services.

The Operation Conifer investigation ended on 31 August this year. Its officers had pursued 1,580 investigative lines of enquiry and 1,062 officer’s reports were generated. In addition, 284 statements were taken or reviewed.

Senior investigating officers are advised to take into account factors including the character, credibility and vulnerability of the suspect, previous allegations against them, the relationship between the victim(s) and the suspect, how the first account came to light and any subsequent accounts, the character, credibility, vulnerability and circumstances of the victim(s).

In total, 24 people worked on Operation Conifer at varying points. No more than 20 people worked on the investigation at any one time and the cost was £1,484,251.