Savile police ‘staggered’ at extent of inquiry

Police investigating the alleged sexual abuse of young girls by the former BBC presenter Jimmy Savile said last night they were pursuing over 400 lines of inquiry involving some 300 victims.

“It’s quite staggering,” said inquiry leader, Commander Peter Spindler. He told a news conference that all bar two of the potential victims were women and that the vast majority of alleged offences involved Savile, who died last year.

Police had spoken to 130 victims to date and recorded 114 reports of sexual assault or serious sexual assault, mostly against Savile.

Spindler did not say who else might have been involved but lawyers representing some of the victims, several of whom were as young as eight when the abuse occurred, said their clients had indicated a paedophile ring involving other celebrities had existed at the BBC during the height of Savile’s fame in the 1970s and ’80s.

The BBC has been thrown into disarray by accusations it helped cover up sexual abuse by Savile, and has struggled to explain why one of its own shows killed an investigation into it.

At this stage there was no evidence of an organised paedophile ring, Spindler added.

He told reporters that most of the allegations are linked to Savile, but some involve others who may have acted with him.

Nobody has yet been arrested or interviewed under caution as yet, but the force is “preparing an arrest strategy”.

Spindler said: “There’s Savile on his own, and that’s the vast majority of what we’re being told about, there’s Savile and others. And it’s the others, if they’re living, we can look at them. Then there is a third category which is ‘others’.”

Praising victims for their courage in coming forward, he encouraged anyone else who is wondering whether to speak out to do so.

He said Savile was “undoubtedly” one of the most prolific sex offenders of recent history and that the weight of evidence against the late DJ was overwhelming.

Allegations reported that doctors in hospitals had been involved in abuse “hadn’t come through to us at the moment”, he added.

So far, the NSPCC has had 439 calls about sexual abuse in the past three weeks, a 60% rise on normal levels. Two out of five have been referred to social services and the police.

Meanwhile a solicitor acting on behalf of victims of Savile has launched claims against the late celebrity’s estate on behalf of clients.

Alan Collins, a partner and specialist in abuse work at law firm Pannone, said: “Much has been written and said about possible actions against the BBC and it is true that claims may be brought against them and other organisations Savile was involved with.

“However, if he was acting as an individual, it is possible to take action against Sir Jimmy Savile’s estate because he was a wealthy man and there will be assets to claim against.

“It is imperative that action is taken promptly in order to advance clients’ claims which arise from their allegations of sexual abuse.”

Collins said Pannone was dealing with allegations of abuse from approximately 20 alleged victims from the UK, Europe, and Australia.

He said he welcomed the decision by the DPP to review the Surrey Crown Prosecution Service decision not to prosecute and said he will be asking that inquiries are made to ascertain what other police forces knew at the time.