London: Former British prime minister Edward Heath was named in an alleged claim of historical child sexual abuse made in the 1990s, Britain's police watchdog the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said on Monday.

The IPCC said that it will investigate allegations concerning the handling of the claim by local police in Wiltshire, where Heath had lived for many years before he died in 2005 at the age of 89. The allegations were referred to the IPCC by Wiltshire Police following allegations made by a retired senior officer, the police watchdog said.