Hounding of Heath: Bogus claims of satanism, child abuse and murder against former PM - and a £1.5 million police farce

05/08/21 • 43 min

Ten years after former Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath died, he was smeared with vile and bizarre false claims of satanism, child abuse and murder, including using a bear-claw glove to disembowel children. Why did police believe the claims against him - and was it to do with Heath’s sexuality? Award-winning crime-writer Stephen Wright talks to Heath’s godson, Lincoln Seligman (who knew him as ‘Uncle Teddy’), and his former political secretary and biographer, Michael McMannus about how - unlike other establishment figures falsely accused of similar crimes - Heath had no children to defend him, and why police chose to believe the ‘wicked and cruel’ allegations against him. And they explain why Home Secretary Priti Patel should ensure officers are held to account over their shocking blunders.

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Previous Episode

Liar, liar: How I fell in love with 'fake spy' conman (and lost £850,000)

When dashing Swiss banker (and secret MI6 agent) Mark Conway walked into the Gloucestershire shop she worked in, divorcee Carolyn Woods fell head over heels and they began planning a life together. There was just one problem, she tells award-winning crime writer Stephen Wright: ‘Conway’ was actually notorious conman Mark Acklom, who span a web of lies including taking fake calls from the King of Spain, and slowly tore Carolyn’s life apart, isolating her from her friends and robbing her of £850,000.

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Next Episode

Blowing the whistle: One detective's battle against the Met

When police raided the homes of VIPs Lord Brittan, Field Marshal Lord Bramall and Harvey Proctor on the basis of ludicrous false child abuse allegations from ‘Nick’ - aka paedophile Carl Beech - one brave detective stood up against the ‘witch-hunt’. Award-winning crime writer Stephen Wright speaks to former Detective Chief Inspector Paul Settle on how he was hounded to the brink of suicide by senior officers, leading to his early retirement (the Met denies this). Settle talks about the Met’s ‘cover-up culture’ relating to the VIP abuse scandal, how the force he loved became ‘like the Gestapo’ and why he is prepared to testify against them in any new inquiry.

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