There is much excitement and some scepticism in today's papers about claims that the Tory prime minister Sir Edward Heath made a habit of cottaging on Hampstead Heath.
The charge was made by the Conservative London Assembly member Brian Coleman in an online column for the New Statesman. According to the Mirror, Mr Coleman says it was "common knowledge" that Sir Edward had sex with men in public toilets, and only stopped when he was warned it would affect his political career.
The Mirror, which headlines the story Hampsted Heath, says friends of the former prime minister regard the allegations as "scandalous".
Writing in the Times, Matthew Parris - who infamously "outed" Peter Mandelson on Newsnight - has his doubts.
"Any suggestion that the late Sir Edward Heath was ever cautioned for improper sexual behaviour would need much better evidence than has so far been offered.
"I say that not because I doubt that Ted was gay. I think that he probably was. But I am equally sure that, like many of his generation, he would have been super-discreet in his private affairs."
* This is an extract from the Wrap, Guardian Unlimited's digest of the daily papers. Try it free.
