IF HE WAS still alive, former UK Prime Minister Ted Heath would have been questioned under caution over claims that he sexually assaulted five boys, police said today.

Following a two-year investigation, officers said that Heath is alleged to have raped an 11-year-old boy during a paid sexual encounter. The alleged offences are said to have occurred when he was a serving MP.

He is also alleged to have indecently assaulted a 10-year-old boy during a chance encounter in a public place in 1962 and indecently assaulted a 15-year-old boy during three paid sexual encounters in 1964, the year he was made Tory leader.

The Conservative politician, who was prime minister between 1970 and 1974, died in 2005 at the age of 89.

“Sir Edward Heath was an extremely prominent, influential and high-profile person who was arguably one of the most powerful people in the world,” Wiltshire police chief constable Mike Veale said, announcing the investigation’s findings.

The allegations against him were of the utmost seriousness and from a significant number of people.

The £1.5 million (€1.7 million) probe was triggered in 2015 after Heath was named as a suspect in an investigation into so-called historical child sex abuse.

Of the 42 allegations made against Heath, seven would have warranted him being questioned by police.

Six people named Heath in accusations of satanic or ritual abuse, but police found no corroborative evidence.

With reporting from AFP

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