Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal
It emerged in late 2012 that Jimmy Savile, a British media personality who had died the previous year, had sexually abused hundreds of people throughout his life, mostly children but some as old as 75, and mostly female. He had been well known in the United Kingdom for his eccentric image and was generally respected for his charitable work, which associated him with the British monarchy and other individuals of personal power.
On 3 October 2012, an ITV documentary presented by investigative reporter Mark Williams-Thomas was broadcast in which several women said that, as teenagers, they had been sexually abused by Savile. By 11 October, allegations had been made against Savile to thirteen British police forces, which led to the setting-up of inquiries into practices within both the BBC and the National Health Service (NHS), both institutions that had worked closely with Savile.[1] On 19 October, London's Metropolitan Police (Met) launched a formal criminal investigation, Operation Yewtree, into historic allegations of child sexual abuse by Savile and other individuals, some still living, over four decades. The Met stated that it was pursuing over 400 lines of inquiry, based on the claims of 200 witnesses, via fourteen police forces across the UK. It described the alleged abuse as being "on an unprecedented scale" and the number of potential victims as "staggering".[2][3] By 19 December, eight people had been questioned as part of the investigation. The Met stated that the total number of alleged victims was 589, of whom 450 alleged abuse by Savile.[4][5]
The report of the investigations undertaken jointly by the police and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), Giving Victims a Voice, was published on 11 January 2013. It reported allegations covering a period of 50 years, including 214 alleged acts by Savile which, though uncorroborated, have been formally recorded as crimes, some involving children as young as eight. The report states "within the recorded crimes there are 126 indecent acts and 34 rape/penetration offences."[6] Alleged offences took place at thirteen hospitals as well as on BBC premises, according to the report.[6][7]
In October 2013, it was announced that inquiries had widened to other hospitals.[8] On 26 June 2014, then-Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt reported on the findings of the investigations led by Kate Lampard. He said that Savile had sexually assaulted victims aged between 5 and 75 in NHS hospitals, and Hunt apologised to the victims.[9] Further investigations, in hospitals and elsewhere, led to additional allegations of sexual abuse by Savile.
Savile often came into contact with his victims through his creative projects for the BBC and his charitable work for the NHS. A significant part of his career and public life involved working with children and young people, including visiting schools and hospital wards. He spent 20 years from 1964 presenting Top of the Pops, aimed at a teenage audience, and an overlapping 20 years presenting Jim'll Fix It, in which he helped the wishes of viewers, mainly children, come true. During his lifetime, two police investigations considered reports about Savile, the earliest known being in 1958, but none had led to charges; the reports had each concluded that there was insufficient evidence for any charges to be brought related to sexual offences.[10][11][12] In 2007 he had been interviewed by the police under caution and in 2008 he started legal action over allegations in The Sun. In October 2012 it was announced that the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, would investigate why proceedings against Savile in 2009 were dropped. A BBC Newsnight investigation into reports Savile had sexually abused children was scheduled for broadcast on 7 December 2011 but cancelled. From October 2012, that cancellation together with the BBC's other handling of concerns about Savile became the subject of further inquiries and investigative reporting.
The scandal was a major factor leading to the establishment of the wider-ranging Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), which was announced by then-Home Secretary Theresa May in July 2014 and was initially administered by Baroness Butler-Sloss (appointed July 2014) and Fiona Woolf (appointed 5 September 2014). In February 2015, the inquiry was reconfigured as a statutory inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005 framework chaired by Justice Lowell Goddard.
Journalism[edit]
Aborted Newsnight report[edit]
Savile died on 29 October 2011, aged 84. At the time of his death and funeral in Leeds Cathedral, he was widely praised for his charity and voluntary activities as well as his entertainment work.[35][36]
Immediately after Savile's death, Meirion Jones and Liz Mackean from the BBC programme Newsnight began to investigate reports that he had sexually abused children. They interviewed one alleged victim on camera and talked to others who were willing to be quoted about alleged abuse at Duncroft Approved School, the BBC, and Stoke Mandeville Hospital. The former headmistress of Duncroft was Jones' own aunt.[37] The Newsnight team, which included former police detective Mark Williams-Thomas, also found out about a 2009 Surrey Police investigation into Savile. The report was scheduled for broadcast on 7 December 2011, but a decision was taken to cancel its transmission, which ultimately developed into a major crisis for the BBC when the allegations against Savile were made public in October 2012. The subsequent Pollard Review found that Jones and MacKean had assembled cogent evidence that Savile had a history of abusing young women and Newsnight had been in a position to break the story in 2011.[38] In November 2021, Mark Williams-Thomas spoke to GB News calling the BBC's treatment of the allegations "absolutely appalling".[39]
In January 2012 the Sunday Mirror reported that Newsnight had investigated allegations of sexual abuse immediately after Savile's death but that the report had been shelved.[40] An article by Miles Goslett in the March 2012 edition of The Oldie alleged a cover-up.[41] The BBC showed two Savile tributes over the 2011 Christmas period, and it was alleged that the Newsnight report had been dropped because its content would have compromised the showing of the tributes. A joint submission to the Leveson Inquiry from Anna van Heeswijk (Object), Jacqui Hunt (Equality Now), Heather Harvey (Eaves) and Marai Larasi (End Violence against Women) was titled "Just the Women", a phrase which was reportedly written by Newsnight editor Peter Rippon in an email to a colleague concerning the lack of other authorities [than the alleged female victims] for evidence of Savile's abuse.[42] A Newsnight spokesman said, "Any suggestion that a story was dropped for anything other than editorial reasons is completely untrue."[43]
In October 2013 the transcript of Surrey Police's interview with Savile in 2009 was published after a request under the Freedom of Information Act. Savile denied the sexual abuse allegations relating to Duncroft Approved School put to him by the police, saying, "I've never, ever done anything wrong" and stating that the accusers wanted a "few quid".[44][45]
Exposure: The Other Side of Jimmy Savile[edit]
An ITV documentary, Exposure: The Other Side of Jimmy Savile, was broadcast on 3 October 2012.[40] It was researched and presented by Mark Williams-Thomas, the former police investigator who had previously been involved in the shelved Newsnight investigation.
Several women interviewed by Exposure said that, as teenagers, they had been sexually abused by Savile.[40] It was also said Savile obtained access to teenage girls through his television programmes Top of the Pops and Clunk, Click (1973–74), and his charity work. Savile's former colleagues said he made no attempt to hide his interest in girls from them, while another said she had walked in on him french kissing an underage girl. One woman who said Savile had sexually assaulted her in 1970, when she was 14, explained she had not pursued her complaint to police in 2008 after being told it would lead to a "media circus".[46] The founder of ChildLine, Esther Rantzen, was shown the interviews by Williams-Thomas and commented that, "There were always rumours that [Savile] behaved very inappropriately sexually with children."[47]
An update to the original documentary, Exposure Update: The Jimmy Savile Investigation, was shown on ITV on 21 November.[48] It won a Peabody Award in 2012.[49]
BBC comments and investigations[edit]
Newspaper reports claimed Douglas Muggeridge, controller of BBC Radio 1 in the early 1970s, was aware of allegations against Savile, and asked for a report in 1973.[50] Derek Chinnery, controller of Radio 1 from 1978 to 1985, recalled an occasion when he confronted Savile, saying, "I asked, 'What's all this, these rumours we hear about you, Jimmy?' And he said, 'That's all nonsense'. There was no reason to disbelieve."[51] Michael Grade told Channel 4 News that during his time at the BBC he had "fleetingly" heard rumours about Savile, but described claims of a cover-up as "ludicrous".[52] The BBC said no evidence of allegations of misconduct or actual misconduct by Savile had been found in its files[53] and denied there had been a cover-up of his activities.[54][55]
On 8 October 2012, the Director-General of the BBC, George Entwistle, apologised for what had happened and said further internal investigations would take place.[56] The chairman of the BBC Trust, Lord Patten, said the investigation would be set up as soon as police enquiries had been completed, and would be chaired by a figure from outside the BBC.[57] As a result of the shelving of the Newsnight investigation into Savile's activities, there were complaints on Newswatch. On 11 October 2012, Entwistle asked BBC Scotland director Ken MacQuarrie to look into staff concerns over the dropping of the item.[58] He announced a review of BBC policy on child protection and an inquiry into its culture and practices, focusing on the years Savile worked there.[59][60]
The BBC was criticised in Parliament for its handling of the affair. Harriet Harman said the allegations "cast a stain" on the corporation. Culture Secretary Maria Miller said she was satisfied the BBC was taking the allegations very seriously, and dismissed calls for an independent inquiry. Labour leader Ed Miliband said an independent inquiry was the only way to ensure justice for those involved.[61] Entwistle offered to appear before the Culture, Media and Sport Committee to explain the BBC's position and actions.[62]
On 16 October the BBC appointed heads of two inquiries into events surrounding Savile. Former High Court judge Dame Janet Smith, who led the inquiry into serial killer Harold Shipman, was to review the culture and practices of the BBC during the time Savile worked there,[63] and Nick Pollard, a former Sky News executive, would look at why the Newsnight investigation was dropped shortly before transmission.[63]
A Panorama investigation into the BBC's actions was broadcast on 22 October 2012.[64] Entwistle declined to be interviewed, citing legal advice that BBC senior management should co-operate only with the police, the BBC's reviews and Parliament.[65] On 21 October it was reported that Jones had warned Rippon in December 2011 that the BBC risked being accused of a cover-up if the item was dropped.[66] On 22 October the BBC announced Rippon would "step aside" from his role of editor with immediate effect.[67][68] On the day after the Panorama broadcast, Entwistle appeared before the Parliamentary Culture, Media and Sport Committee, at which he faced hostile questioning and stated that it had been a "catastrophic mistake" to cancel the Newsnight broadcast.[69]
Paul Gambaccini, who worked next door to Savile's office at BBC Radio 1 from 1973, said he was aware of rumours of Savile being a necrophile, and stated:[70]
Further allegations[edit]
Following the broadcast of the ITV documentary, many people came forward to make allegations about Savile's conduct towards young people. Some abuse was said to have taken place on BBC premises.[88] It was claimed that Savile had abused at least one boy as well as numerous girls.[89]
Claims were made about Savile's activities in hospitals. It was claimed that he sexually abused a 13-year-old patient during a visit to Stoke Mandeville Hospital in 1971 and an eight-year-old girl in the same hospital recovering from an operation.[90] Staff reported he searched the wards for young patients to abuse, and they instructed patients in the children's ward to feign sleep during his visits.[91] A hospital spokesman said that, though it was working with the police, it had no record of inappropriate behaviour by Savile.[92] The BBC carried statements from a retired detective inspector of the local police force that a nurse at Stoke Mandeville hospital had reported Savile's abuse of patients there to him in the 1970s and he had repeatedly informed his superiors about this, but they did not believe him.[93]
A former nurse said she saw Savile molest a brain-damaged patient at Leeds hospital, saying, "He kissed her, and I thought he was a visitor coming to see her, and he started rubbing his hands down her arms and then I don't know of a nice way to put it but he molested her."[94]
Savile was a volunteer at the adult high-security psychiatric Broadmoor Hospital, and in August 1988 was appointed to chair an interim task force overseeing the management of the hospital, after its management board had been suspended.[95] It is alleged that Savile had hospital keys and access to patients' rooms. In a separate allegation, a lawyer said a client had been abused by Savile when he was a 10-year-old at the Haut de la Garenne children's home in Jersey.[96]
Julie Fernandez, who later appeared in BBC television programmes Eldorado and The Office, was invited to a BBC studio to appear on Jim'll Fix It. She recalled her experience in a radio interview: "I was in my wheelchair, but I just remember [Savile's] hands being everywhere and just lingering those two, three, four seconds slightly too long in places they shouldn't [...] It was in a busy room full of people in a studio so it was quite discreetly done and you don't kind of realise what's happening at the time, especially when you're 14 and it's the first time you've ever been in a studio and you're very excited. But I do remember feeling uncomfortable and he had these huge rings on his fingers."[97][98][99]
Singer Coleen Nolan said Savile invited her to a hotel when she was 14 and had been involved in a TV recording at the Top of the Pops studio and that it made her "uncomfortable", "But you didn't talk about those things then."[100] Savile's great-niece Caroline Robinson said she had been sexually abused by him twice at family gatherings. She believed some members of the family knew about his abuse but had turned a blind eye to it.[101]
The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, said that he was "truly shocked" by the published allegations, which should be "properly investigated".[102] The Jimmy Savile Charitable Trust stated that it was considering giving funds to those working with victims of sexual abuse, and that it may change its name because of the allegations;[102] the trust later announced that it would close.[103] As part of the investigations, enquiries would be made into allegations of abuse when Savile worked as a volunteer at Leeds General Infirmary.[104]
In October 2012 it was reported that the Sunday Mirror had decided not to publish allegations of sexual abuse at a children's home by two women against Savile. Paul Connew, the newspaper's editor when the women came forward in 1994, described the allegations as "credible and convincing", but said that lawyers had advised against publication.[105] In July 2013, Connew said that he believed that the newspaper would have lost a libel action over the allegations, as the two women, who had been pupils at Duncroft Approved School, did not want to be named. He also expressed concern that a jury would have been "starstruck" by Savile.[106]
In November 2014 the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced that the enquiry had been widened, with the number of NHS organisations investigating allegations of abuse by Savile extended to 41.[107]
Department for Education[edit]
A report for the Department for Education reached no firm conclusions over whether Savile had abused children or staff when visiting schools and children's homes, or hosting shows at which they had been invited to attend, between the 1960s and 1980s. The report, published on 26 February 2015, brought together the findings of various investigations carried out by local authorities, charities and schools. The Children's Minister, Edward Timpson, said that, though information had been received from credible sources, there was insufficient corroborating evidence to draw firm conclusions.[163]
In popular culture[edit]
In June 2015, a stage play about Savile and the scandal was premiered at Park Theatre in Finsbury Park, London. Titled An Audience with Jimmy Savile, it was written by Jonathan Maitland and starred Alistair McGowan as Savile.[190]
In 2016, an episode of series 3 of the TV programme Line of Duty, had a photo of Savile doctored to include two of the programme's characters, implying that they were all part of the same child abuse ring.[191][192]
In 2019, an episode of the alternate history TV series Pennyworth, depicted a televised public hanging of a man with long blond hair named James Savile, who was said to have committed "rape, sodomy and murder".[193][194][195]
In April 2022, Netflix released Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story, a two-part documentary detailing Savile's life, public image, and criminal activity. During an interview with journalist Alison Bellamy, she shared letters that had been exchanged between Savile and members of the British royal family where Savile had acted as an unofficial advisor. Prince Charles in particular valued Savile's opinion dearly and in 1989 expressed his desire for his "office to 'consult' Savile before his meetings". There was no indication that the royal family was aware of Savile's predatory behaviour.[196]
In October 2023, the BBC broadcast a mini-series, The Reckoning, which recounted Savile's career and crimes. It was written by Neil McKay with Jeff Pope as its executive producer,[197] and starred Steve Coogan as Savile.[198]