Person 1: Ted Heath is innocent.
Person 2: I beg your pardon?
Person 1: I said Ted Heath, the former Conservative prime minister, is innocent.
Person 2: You’re joking.
Person 1: No I’m not. I don’t joke about things like this.
Person 2: So Ted Heath, the man whom Scotland Yard have been investigating for several months over charges of child sex abuse, is innocent?
Person 1: Yep.
Person 2: The man the Independent Police Complaints Commission had in mind when they announced that a retired police officer is claiming that a prosecution back in the 1990s was dropped because a suspect threatened to name Heath as being involved in child abuse?
Person 1: Yep.
Person 2: The same Ted Heath about whom the Daily Mirror reported a claim made by an anonymous man.
Person 1: What did this man claim?
Person 2: That he was raped at the age of twelve by Heath. And you still stand there and say Heath is innocent?
Person 1: I do.
Person 2: You know that the Metropolitan police have been talking to a man who, two years ago, claimed he was a victim of abuse by Heath when he was a teenager?
Person 2: I do.
Person: And you know that Labour MP Tom Watson said he got information three years ago alleging child abuse by Heath? And that these claims are “being investigated and taken seriously” by the police?
Person 2: I do.
Person 1: And you know Heath was unmarried and that all sorts of suggestions had been made over the years about his sexual inclinations?
Person 2: Yes.
Person 1: And you know Heath was no friend of Ireland when he was PM?
Person 2: I do. But we’re talking about his guilt or innocence on this child abuse claims at the moment.
Person 1: For God’s sake – something like five different police forces in England are checking out these claims. How can you go on saying he’s innocent?
Person 2: Because he is.
Person 1: Eh?
Person 2: All the things you mention are true but they are, right now, simply allegations?
Person 1: So you’re saying Heath didn’t get involved in any of the stuff people are claiming about him?
Person 2: No. Just that he’s innocent.
Person 1: You’ve lost me.
Person 2: Well let me make one more attempt to find you again. According to English law, no one is guilty of an illegal act until they have been proven so in a court of law. The cases against Heath haven’t even got as far as the courts yet. Therefore he’s innocent – right now he’s innocent.
Person 1: But –
Person 2: What’s more, no one has the right to refer to the people making the claims against him as victims.
Person: God Almighty. Why not?
Person 2: Because they are alleging they are victims. That’s a different thing from being a victim – that is, you need to prove in a court of law that you are a victim.
Person 1: Well yes, but…Surely our sympathies must lie with the victim, not with the perpetrator?
Person 2: Couldn’t agree more. But the perpetrator isn’t a perpetrator until the case is proven in law. And likewise the victim isn’t a victim until the case is proven in law.
Person 1: Mmm. Why are you taking such a firm line on this?
Person 2: Because I’ve seen what happens in other cases. Someone claims they were abused, the alleged perpetrator is named, and next you know the media and people generally are talking about the perpetrator and the victim, usually describing the perpetrator as a vile animal and the victim as having been cruelly wronged.
Person 1: And you think they weren’t.
Person 2: They may have been. But it’s absolutely contrary to justice, not to mention common sense, to suspend judgement about who’s a perpetrator and who’s a victim until the case has been tried in court. Otherwise anyone could say anything about someone, and we’d all accept it as true. No need of proof.
Person 1: And you think there’s much of this assuming guilt about?
Person 2: Judge for yourself. How would you feel if I said you were a child abuser and everyone believed me?
Person1: I’d be mad as hell. I’m nothing of the sort.
Person 2: Exactly. Claims of child abuse are worthless – in fact, for all we know, malicious – until the case has been examined in court and guilt or innocence established.
Person 1: Still, that Heath. You only had to look at him.
Person 2: That’s exactly what I mean. Assuming guilt without evidence produced and the case tried.
Person 1: But you’ll have to admit, Heath was no friend of Ireland.
Person 2: According to the records, he was heartless and couldn’t have cared less what his armed forces got up to here. But that’s a separate issue.
Person 1: So I’m to stop saying Heath was a paedophile and that his victims were cruelly treated?
Person 2: Not until it’s proven in a court of law. Innocent until proved guilty.
Person 1: Oh, OK then. Although I still don’t like the way his shoulders used to shake when he laughed.
Person 2 Me too.
An appalling vista
Why now? Why was this issue not dealt with in 1961? Why involve five police forces at this point in time? There are many unanswered questions about Edward Heath’s role in relation to military activities given events in Ballymurphy, Derry and the introduction of internment. Edward Heath and his party opted for a military solution to a social, political and economic problem. Why did the British government attempt to ban Peter Wright’s book, ‘Spycatcher – The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer’? Wright advocated an 11th commandment, “Thou shall not get caught.” Mr Wright alleged that the security services operated outside the law. There is ample evidence to confirm that this was the case. Many people ended up in internments camps, prisons and graves as a result of the predilections of securocrats. We continue to live with “the evil that men do.” Tory policies failed between 1970 – 1979 in the north of Ireland. The real tragedy is that we have an unfinished symphony and no one in the Assembly knows the score. Fortunately, most people can spot a red herring without the assistance of spooks and spies.
Listened to Sir Gerald Howarth on Talkback stating its a waste of Police resources investigating allegations that surround Edward Heath – disgrace! This coupled with Kincora, sits very uncomfortably with the governments, politics and politicians in general! I understand these are just allegations against Heath but I am also mindful of the idea that “If those who make the law, break the law, in the name of the law, then there is no law.” What Sir Gerald States totally ignores the fact there are victims!
Wonder if SirGerald would apply same opinion to the allegations that surrounded Jimmy Saville, or for that matter, anyone who committed a criminal offence in the past!
Absolutely , 100% correct. That’s why there are defamation laws.
We are told there are now five English police forces asking for possible victims of Ted Heath to come forward with their evidence.
Different witnesses came forward years ago to tell their stories to the same police services and were shunned and told there was nothing of truth in their stories.
Now they expect those same victims to come forward again to be re-traumatised all over again!
This whole flurry of apparent willingness to do something for these unfortunate people is just all window dressing – nothing will ever come of it, but the Tories will be able to claim: ‘Well we tried to help but got no co-operation from the alleged victims – now go home and forget about it!’
Spot on Jude! It is very tempting to follow the media hype but it is not for the honourable!
Was Ted Heath a paedophile? Did Westminster for decades (centuries even?..) cover up abuse, fraud and even murder? Was Lord Mountbatten a visitor at Kincorra house?
We don’t know the answers to those questions but no one knows more than the Irish people about how the British Government works. Unfortunately we have plenty of experience with them, centuries worth of experience, in fact. We know they were responsible for genocide here in the 1840’s and disguised it as a famine. I could go on about numerous other events in British-Irish history. They are the most untrustworthy and devious bunch that maybe ever walked this planet. Trusting the British Government is like trusting Jack the Ripper to escort a drunken prostitute home. Or as George Galloway’s Irish grandfather use to say: “The Sun never set on the British Empire because God didn’t trust the British in the Dark”.
Would I be surprised if Ted Heath, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, was a paedophile? No. Would I be surprised if many other high ranking British politicians were paedophiles? No. Westminster I always regarded as an untrustworthy cesspit, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a paedophile ring operating there and STILL operating there, in one way or another.
Needless to say there should be a completely independent enquiry into the allegations made against Ted Heath and other prominent British politicians, many of which are dead and some of which are still alive. Do I believe this will happen? Not a chance. Not in a million years do I think the truth will ever be revealed in full. It will be hushed up. The British Royals too would have a few skeletons in their cupboards (not literally, I hope but there again, I wouldn’t be surprised…) what with the allegations against Prince Andrew sleeping with an underage girl….
As with the victims of murder, collusion, etc here in the North of Ireland, if there are victims of sexual abuse by prominent British politicians (and I obviously believe there are) then they are facing just as difficult a challenge to get justice and truth as we here in Ireland are.
I would suggest people research the haut de la garenne Jersey care home case. When you do that you will realise that the Ted Heath allegations at the minute dwarf the allegations that went on in this place. Also these claims have been around for years and the British establishment have managed to keep a lid on it so far. But thanks to the the determination of journalists like Leah McGrath goodman for example the establishment are being forced to investigate theses claims. In fact her treatment at the hands of the British state prove to many victims how powerful these abusers are ie they can call on many state agencies to bully and intimidate the victim.
Leah McGrath goodman was arranging to meet people who attended the jersey care home. She flew in from the U.S. and was refused entry at Heathrow by immigration control. She wanted to visit the island and further investigate the care home and especially the claims that Ted Heath,savile, and other prominent people on that island and from further afield were sexually abusing the kids that attended the home. In particular the claim was Mr eddy was pulling up in his own yacht and collecting his victims. Come to think of it Lord mountbottom had is own yacht too, mmmm I wonder.
It really would be irony if people lauded like Ted Heath and mountbottom, ie those that British subjects were taught to obey and look up to turned out to be worse than the subjects they lorded over. These same people determined laws for the British public. Perhaps the British public need to question their lawmakers more and don’t take for granted that they are genuine upstanding individuals?