Stories have included accusations of both child abuse and male prostitution, one of which is abhorrent and the other inadvisable, and this has blurred the importance of the real issues. The first articles in the press were based on reports from an ex-senior detective who said that enquiries against Heath in the past had been suspended as they could have caused political embarrassment. In fact, at the time of the incidents, the policeman was a uniformed bobby who would not have been privy to all the facts. However, there have been enough rumours for the police to now ask men, who may have been abused by Heath as minors, to come forward. That may be a sensible approach; it may also allow manipulators wanting publicity and financial gain to try their luck.
It's already been said that a brothel-keeper had her case dropped in the 1990’s because she threatened to name Heath in a scandal involving male sex workers, although there's no suggestion that they were underage. That makes lurid reading; but now the barrister involved in the case has come forward to say the case was dropped when three witnesses refused to give evidence against the brothel-keeper and not because of the Heath connection.
It may be that Heath, known as a private man although he was in the public eye, will be found guilty of the allegations. Previously, there had been rumours that he was gay, but no proof, and it had also been suggested that he was asexual. Being famous and single attracts all kinds of rumours. Surely a person has a right to live within the law but in their own way. At the moment, there's only a trial by the press and that is so wrong. No one, whether dead or alive, should have the equivalent of a public hanging before trial. To prove his innocence is difficult and some will always doubt the decision; if found guilty, others will say they knew it all along - it's a lose-lose situation for a man who was once a respected Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party. Tony Blair, after Heath's death, stated 'he was a man of great integrity'. What a shame that won't be how the public will think of him in the future, whatever the outcome.