Former singer-songwriter and convicted paedophile Jonathan King has used an opinion piece in the Spectator magazine to argue Sir Edward Heath couldn't have been gay as he "resisted" his advances.
King, who was jailed for child sex offences in the early 2000s, writes that during a short flight between Scotland and London, he was sat next to the then former prime minister and attempted to flirt with him.
King then argues that his "failure" to provoke a response from Heath is proof he wasn't gay. He writes:
"The moment Edward Heath sat down in the first class seat next to me on the flight from Scotland to London, shook my hand and said ‘Jonathan, it is a pleasure to meet you’ I determined to flirt with him in order to find out whether the rumours that he was gay were true."
In addition, King makes further references to a "sex allegations industry", belittling those who make claims of sexual assault as having "genuine misunderstandings and adapted memories over the passage of time or a desire for sympathy and attention, cash reward, delusions or simple exaggerations".
The piece appeared on Friday on The Spectator's Coffeehouse blog
Twitter has been quick to pick up on the bizarre piece, with many sharing incredulity at King's suggestions - and the Spectator's decision to publish it.