Pinay brothel owner denies late British PM was a pedophile

The former Filipina prostitute and brothel owner who was at the center of a child abuse scandal involving the late British Prime Minister Edward Heath has denied that the former official was a pedophile.

A report on The Independent said Myra Ling-Ling Forde has described Heath as "an old, sad, gay man" who "never asked" her for "young children" during an interview with Channel 4 News.

Recent investigations on the alleged cover-up by the Wiltshire Police uncovered that Forde, 67, escaped prosecution in 1992 by threatening to expose Heath, who died in 2005, as a sex offender.

Forde had earlier denied reports that she used the knowledge of the Conservative politician's alleged sexual misconduct to escape further charges and insisted that problems with a key witness led to her case being dropped.

Though the 1992 case was dropped, Forde was still convicted of running a brothel in her Salisbury residence minutes away from Heath's home in 1995 and 2009.

A report on Express and Star said Forde received £500 from Heath under the name "John" for male escorts well above the age of consent in the UK.

"He was specific from the start he wanted men over 21 and under 30 and I was happy to help him as I didn't see anything wrong with providing that service. He was not a paedophile - he was gay. People should stop blackening his name," Forde was quoted as saying.

She also described Heath in the report as a "very secretive and shy gay man."

Heath supposedly broke off contact with Forde after she discovered his real identity.

The Independent report said Heath's family and friends had "strenuously" that the former prime minister was involved in offenses against children. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News