Sir Edward Heath child sexual abuse claims: Met Police launch investigation into former Tory Prime Minister

Sir Edward is one of many prominent figures being looked at as part of Operation Midland

Sir Edward Heath arrives at No.10 Downing Street for a dinner hosted by Prime Minister Tony Blair in London, 2002

The Met Police have been reportedly investigating Edward Heath for six months as part of an inquiry into claims of child sex abuse by members of the establishment.

Sir Edward is one of a number of prominent figures being considered by detectives from Operation Midland, according to the BBC.

A spokeswoman for the Met Police told the Independent it would not be commenting on the matter.

Operation Midland was established last November to examine claims that young boys were abused at the hands of a group of high-profile men from the world of politics, law enforcement agencies and the military, across London and the south east in the 1970s and 1980s.

Reports of the Scotland Yard investigation follow an announcement by the Independent Police Complaints Commission that it is investigating whether Wiltshire Police failed to pursue claims against the late politician in the 1990s.

The inquiry has been launched after claims by a retired senior officer that the trial of a woman, in charge of a brothel, never took place as she said she would expose Sir Edward's alleged involvement in child abuse.

In an interview with the Daily Mirror, a man in his 60s has claimed he was raped by the politician in his Mayfair flat in 1961 after being picked up hitchhiking.

Wiltshire Police have appealed for potential victims of Sir Edward to come forward.

In a statement, the Sir Edward Heath Charitable Foundation has 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."

Sir Edward, who led the Conservative government from 1970 to 1974, died in 2005.