Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks of Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 17 January (HL Deb col 466), whether the Home Secretary has had the opportunity to read the relevant section of Hansard for that date; and what was his response.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Having considered the Hansard record of the debate of 17 January 2024 titled Sir Edward Heath: Operation Conifer, the Government has no plans to commission a review of either the conduct of the investigation into allegations made against Sir Edward Heath or the findings of that investigation.
The Operation Conifer investigation has already been subject to considerable external scrutiny, and its Summary Closure Report emphasises that no inference of guilt should be drawn from the fact that, had he been alive, Sir Edward Heath would have been interviewed under caution concerning seven allegations to obtain his account of events.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 17 January (HL Deb col 463), when and in what circumstances Mr Mike Veale, former chief constable for Wiltshire, agreed that the manner in which he publicised allegations against Sir Edward Heath was “inappropriate”.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The reference to Mr Veale agreeing that the manner in which he publicised allegations against Sir Edward Heath was “inappropriate” was paraphrased from articles in The Guardian newspaper on 5 October 2017.
The Guardian reported that ‘, the chief constable, Mike Veale, finally acknowledged it a mistake that tainted the investigation by implying the presumption of guilt’ and ‘Veale apologised for an appeal for complainants to come forward being made outside Heath’s house in August 2015, which critics said would encourage false claims.’