Report: Savile’s youngest victim was aged 2

At least 500 victims, one of whom was just two years of age, were abused by the TV presenter Jimmy Savile during his reign as one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders, research shows.

A study by the NSPCC, commissioned for BBC’s Panorama, reveals confidential documents examining the extent of Savile’s offending and his unprecedented access to Broadmoor hospital, where some of the abuse took place.

The report said the scale of Savile’s offending inside Broadmoor is higher than previously thought, with Thames Valley Police having received 16 reports of abuse by him inside the special hospital.

It also describes how some awestruck civil servants erroneously referred to the Top Of The Pops presenter as “doctor”, unaware of the trauma he was inflicting on some youngsters behind hospital doors.

The figures show the most common age group for Savile’s victims was 13 to 15 — the youngest alleged victim was just two years old.

Peter Watt, the NSPCC’s director of child protection, said: “There’s no doubt that Savile is one of the most, if not the most, prolific sex offender we at the NSPCC have ever come across.

The joint BBC investigation between Panorama and The World At One, which airs today on BBC One and BBC Radio 4, asks how the DJ got so close to the heart of Britain’s establishment and why in 1972 the BBC failed to take effective action that might have saved young people from abuse.

In 1988, health minister Edwina Currie appointed Savile to head a task force to address tensions between Broadmoor’s management and unions.

Savile first became involved with Broadmoor through the League Of Friends charity in the late 1960s. He was later given his own set of keys and a house in the grounds.

Trevor Smith, a former Broadmoor manager and former branch chair of the Prison Officers’ Association, said he remembered seeing Savile at a hospital charity day, exchanging kisses for autographs from young girls.

He told the programme: “He (Savile) kissed these girls who was about 13 smack bang on the lips, held his hand behind their neck to pull them forward and he virtually was giving them French kisses.”

The publication of the BBC’s review into how Savile carried out a campaign of abuse over decades has been delayed until later in the year.

It has been reported that the Janet Smith review is expected to uncover hundreds of victims and reveal a culture of ignorance which “protected” Savile.

* Savile: The Abuse Of Power is due to air on BBC1 from 8.30pm today.