WILTSHIRE Police has continued to receive calls after appeals for information regarding Sir Edward Heath, it emerged after it was confirmed that five forces have now received allegations against the former prime minister at the centre of historical child sex claims.

A spokesman said: “Wiltshire Police continue to receive a number of calls following appeals for information regarding Sir Edward Heath.

"We are working closely with the NSPCC and other forces to establish and progress the information they have received where appropriate," said a Wiltshire Police spokesman.

"We would encourage anyone who has been a victim of abuse or who has information to contact the dedicated NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 where specialist staff are available to assist callers."

Wiltshire Police appealed for potential victims and witnesses to come forward on Monday after Sir Edward became the most high-profile figure embroiled in historical child sex claims.

On Wednesday night Hampshire Police confirmed that it was investigating claims. It was known that detectives in Wiltshire, London, Kent and Jersey were looking at sex abuse allegations linked to the late politician.

The force said: "We are investigating allegations, we have nothing further to add at this stage."

Reports subsequently emerged that Sir Edward is being looked at as part of Operation Midland, a Scotland Yard inquiry into claims a VIP paedophile ring operated in the 1970s and 1980s.

Operation Midland is part of a wider umbrella of investigations by Scotland Yard, dubbed Operation Fairbank, into allegations of abuse involving senior politicians and high-profile figures.

A man, now aged in his 60s, claimed he was raped at the age of 12 by the Conservative MP in 1961 but was branded "a liar and a fantasist" when he reported it to social workers two months later.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "In April 2015 an allegation of rape was made to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). An officer from Operation Fairbank interviewed the complainant that same month and obtained a full account. Support services were offered.

"However, after a full assessment of the allegation there were no lines of inquiry that could proportionately be pursued by the MPS."

He said the force was not prepared to discuss why that decision had been taken.

The States of Jersey Police confirmed the former prime minister features in Operation Whistle, an inquiry in to alleged historical abuse on the island.

Operation Whistle was launched by police in Jersey in June as part of Operation Hydrant, a UK-wide co-ordination of sex abuse probes.

Later, Kent Police said they had received a report yesterday of a sexual assault in the east of the county in the 1960s.

A spokesman said: "The victim has named Sir Edward Heath in connection with the allegation. Detectives are making initial inquiries and will obtain a full account from the victim."

Wiltshire Police said its officers and the NSPCC had received "a number of calls" following appeals for information. The force said in a statement: "The investigation team will be reviewing the information and following up any lines of inquiry as a result."

A spokeswoman said they were unable to confirm how many people had made contact and the "validity" of the calls was not known at this stage.

They have received a mixture of "intelligence" and "third party" calls, she added.

Sir Edward's name was dramatically linked to paedophile claims on Monday when the police watchdog announced an inquiry into allegations that a prosecution against an individual was shelved after a threat was made to "expose" him.

A woman, named in reports as Filipino Myra Ling-Ling Forde, had been due to stand trial in the 1990s for running a brothel, but the case was allegedly dropped when she said she would name Sir Edward.

Forde was later convicted on two separate occasions of offences related to running a brothel from a residential property in Salisbury.

The IPCC is looking into whether Wiltshire Police followed up a claim made against Sir Edward in the 1990s.

Labour MP Tom Watson has claimed he passed information relating to two allegations of child abuse involving Sir Edward to police since 2012.

The Sir Edward Heath Charitable Foundation said: "We welcome the investigation by Wiltshire Police, which we wholeheartedly believe will clear Sir Edward's name and we will co-operate fully with the police in their inquiries."

Former Conservative MP Brian Binley, who worked in Sir Edward's office for a period of time, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I find it very difficult to believe from the Ted Heath that I knew.

"There are many unanswered questions here and I don't think it would be right and fair to jump to conclusions about a man who served his country with dignity and with care, who was a considerable intellect, loved his music.

"We must be very careful. It's easy to smear people not around."

Sir Edward, who led the Conservative government between 1970 and 1974, never married and was famously reticent about his private life. One biographer concluded that he may have been a latent or repressed homosexual while another thought he was "pretty well sexless".

Away from politics he was noted for his enthusiasm for sailing and classical music. Sir Edward died at home in Salisbury aged 89 in July 2005.

  • The independent inquiry into historic child sex abuse will consider allegations against Sir Edward Heath "should the facts justify it", a spokeswoman has said.

Today a spokeswoman for The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, led by Justice Lowell Goddard, said the probe was aware of the claims.

She said: "As chair of the inquiry, Lowell Goddard has earlier made clear, she is leading the strand of the Inquiry that looks at all allegations relating to Westminster and will determine their relevance to the Inquiry.

"The inquiry is aware of the allegations about former PM Edward Heath and is in close contact with the ongoing policing operation, Operation Hydrant.

"The inquiry's terms of reference are broad and it is mandated to investigate institutional failures to protect children across a range of institutions, including Westminster.

"Should the facts justify it, the emerging allegations about the former prime minister will form part of the inquiry's investigations under the leadership of Hon. Lowell Goddard."

Meanwhile, a brothel madam has broken her silence over claims she threatened to expose Sir Edward as a paedophile.

Myra Ling-Ling Forde has been named in reports as the brothel owner who it was claimed had escaped prosecution in the early 1990s after saying she would link Sir Edward to child sex claims.

Forde, a Filipino, was later convicted on two separate occasions of offences related to running a brothel from a residential property in Salisbury.

But speaking through her former solicitor she said she had no knowledge of any alleged misconduct by Sir Edward and had never threatened to use his name to avoid prosecution.

Richard Griffiths, of Richard Griffiths & Co Solicitors, told the Salisbury Journal: "My firm acted for Myra Forde in relation to the case which the prosecution discontinued on the day of the trial and which has been the subject of a great deal of speculation.

"My former client wishes me to make it very clear that at no stage did she state that Ted Heath was a client and at no stage did she threaten to expose him as a client of hers if the prosecution was continued.

"For the avoidance of any doubt Myra Forde wishes me to make it clear that she had no involvement with Ted Heath of any kind and has no knowledge of any misconduct on his part.

"It is my recollection, assisted by discussion with my colleague who was at Winchester Crown Court on the day the case was discontinued, and by the barrister we instructed to represent Myra Forde, that the prosecution had witness problems.

"In particular it may have been the case that one of the witnesses was at court in the cells and perhaps therefore not best inclined to assist the prosecution.

"The prosecution took what at the time seemed a sensible decision that they could not prove their case and offered no evidence.

"This decision would have been announced in open court and would be a matter of record."