Sir Edward Heath: the Filipino Brothel Keeper Who Sparked Child Sex Abuse Inquiry

Telegraph
August 4, 2015

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11783304/Sir-Ted-Heath-The-Filipino-brothel-keeper-who-sparked-child-sex-abuse-inquiry.html

Myra Ling-Ling Forde and Sir Edward Heath Photo: PA

The woman at the centre of the Sir Edward Heath child abuse storm can be revealed as a Filipino prostitute, who ran a brothel just a mile from the late Prime Minister’s former home in Salisbury.

Myra Ling-Ling Forde, 67, has twice been jailed for operating as a madam out of her terraced property in the Wiltshire town where Sir Edward made his home after leaving office.

But in the early 1990s it is alleged she had a prosecution dropped after threatening to expose Sir Edward as a paedophile.

Sir Edward Heath at the Conservative Party Conference, 1990 (Rex)

A retired senior detective from the force came forward last year to allege that his colleagues quietly dropped a trial against twice married Forde in order to protect the reputation of the former Tory leader.

That allegation is now the subject of an Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigation, but Wiltshire Police have also appealed for any potential victims of Sir Edward to come forward.

Sources close to the investigation confirmed that Forde was the person who had made the original allegations against Sir Edward.

Despite claims that she had used threats against Sir Edward to avoid prosecution in the early 1990s, she was successfully convicted in 1995 of running a brothel full of underage girls from her Salisbury property.

A court heard how she trained runaway children as call girls, often picking up youngsters who were in the care system.

Sir Edward Heath pictured in 1981 (Getty)

Winchester Crown Court heard how one 13-year-old girl would go straight from school to the brothel, which was advertised as The Oriental Massage Parlour, where she would sell her body to clients.

Another 15-year-old told the authorities how she had sex with five men at once and lost count of the number of times she sold herself for sex while under Forde's control.

The court heard that Forde became a prostitute herself in the early 1990s after falling behind on her mortgage repayments, but she denied recruiting youngsters for the trade.

Sir Edward Heath and Lady Thatcher at the Conservative Party Conference (Reuters)

After getting out of prison, she returned home to Meadow Road in Salisbury, but then in 2009 was once again arrested on suspicion of running a brothel.

She was caught when neighbours in the quiet, respectable street complained about her activities.

In December 2009 she pleaded guilty to inciting prostitution and perverting the course of justice and was sentenced to five years in prison. She was also ordered to pay back ?25,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Sir Edward Heath takes tea in the garden of his home in Salisbury, 1989 (Reuters)

Speaking from her home in London Forde’s sister, Mia Pablico, said she did not know where she was now living, but said she “knew a lot of politicians”.

Asked if she ever mentioned the name Ted Heath, she said: "That's not for me to say. You'd have to ask her."

She added: “I know what she did in Salisbury and she knew a lot of politicians and celebrities because of it.”

It is understood Forde moved out of her Kilburn home a couple of weeks ago because the block of flats is about to be demolished. Until recently, she had been dog sitting.

Edward Heath at his flat in Albany, London, 1969 (PA)

Allegations against Sir Edward, including claims that he raped a 12-year-old boy in London in the 1960s are now being investigated by the Metropolitan Police.

Jersey Police have also confirmed that the former Prime Minister’s name has been linked to its investigation into abuse at the Haut de la Garenne.