BBC offers to help police investigate Jimmy Savile sex abuse claims - Telegraph.co.uk

The BBC has said it will help police investigate claims that Sir Jimmy Savile molested young girls on the corporation's premises.

The corporation said it was 'horrified' by allegations that attacks took place on BBC premises in the 1960s and 1970s.

It comes as an historic rape allegation made against the entertainer was referred to Scotland Yard by officers in Surrey.

A spokesman for the BBC said: "A number of serious and disturbing allegations have been made over the past few days about the sexual abuse of teenage girls by Jimmy Savile.

"Some of these allegations relate to activity on BBC premises in the 1960s and 70s. We are horrified by allegations that anything of this sort could have happened at the BBC - or have been carried out by anyone working for the BBC.

"They are allegations of a serious criminal nature which the police have the proper powers to investigate.

"So we have today asked the BBC investigations unit to make direct contact with all the police forces in receipt of allegations and offer to help them investigate these matters and provide full support to any lines of inquiry they wish to pursue."

The investigations unit is a division of the BBC responsible for security and safety matters within the corporation.

The BBC is facing mounting pressure to launch an internal inquiry into why executives decided to halt a Newsnight investigation into Savile after the death of the former Top of the Pops and Jim'll Fix It presenter last year.

Tonight newsnight editor Peter Rippon said the current affairs show dropped the story because it "had not established any institutional failure" on behalf of the police or Crown Prosecution Service.

Writing on a BBC blog, Mr Rippon said it was "totally untrue" he had come under any pressure to drop the story from within the corporation.

He said: "I decided we should pursue the story because of the nature of the allegations and because the key witness told us the police had investigated the claims but the case had been dropped on the grounds he was too old. This made the public interest case from a Newsnight point of view potentially strong. If we could establish some sort of institutional failure we would have a much stronger story."

He added the CPS told Newsnight no action was taken against the star because of "lack of evidence" and "it would not be correct to say that his age and frailty was the reason".

Mr Rippon said: "I felt it was significant the guidance was included and we had not established any institutional failure and I judged it weakened the story from a Newsnight perspective. I took the decision not to publish."

It also emerged today that Savile was investigated by Jersey Police after a woman claimed she was indecently assaulted by him on the island in the 1970s.

The revelation claim as Surrey police referred a historic allegation of rape against Savile to the Metropolitan Police because it was said to have taken place in London.

The alleged victim in Jersey told police the attack took place while she was resident at the now infamous Haut de la Garenne children's home.

The school became the focus of a huge child abuse inquiry in 2008 after a number of former residents came forward to claim they had been abused there in the past.

A spokesman for the States of Jersey Police said: "During the course of the States of Jersey Police's historic abuse investigation a verbal allegation of indecent assault said to have occurred during the 1970s at the former children's home Haut de la Garenne was received.

"The allegation was investigated but there was insufficient evidence to proceed."

In 2008 Sir Jimmy angrily denied he had ever visited the home when asked by the press.

But he was later forced to concede he had been a visitor when a black and white photograph emerged of him sat in the school grounds surrounded by children.

Describing one of the BBC personality's visits, a former resident of the home said: "Jimmy Savile was very famous and we were all excited to see him. All the staff were friendly and nice to us when he came and we had been warned to be on our best behaviour.

"That day, you would have thought it was one of the nicest places for a child to be – it was anything but. Jimmy spent quite a while touring the areas and meeting us. He was chatting away and making us laugh with his catchphrases."

But when asked about the visit in 2008, Sir Jimmy said: "I ain't never been there. Over the years I've done about 30 sponsored walks in Jersey and been photographed with lots of people.

"I have asked my friends in Jersey if I have ever been there and they said, 'Nope you've never been there', they said it was not on my itinerary."

After later conceding that he had visited the home, he said: "It makes life very unpleasant for someone like me.

"For anybody who opens a garden fete 38 years ago for half an hour and ends up with people nudging each other in restaurants and saying, 'That man's associated with those murdered children,' it's a nasty thing. What's happening over there is horrific."

Another woman has also come forward to claim she was sexually assaulted on Jersey by Sir Jimmy.

Dee Coles, waived her anonymity when she told ITV news that she had been 14 when her and a friend were attacked in the star's camper van while on holiday on the island.

She said: "We were taken to his van on a couple of occasions and made to do sexual acts."

When asked why she had decided to come forward now, she said: "I hope that the women that are coming forward and saying that they were abused by Jimmy Savile are believed.

I panic if I think those women or myself are not going to believed and I panic at the thought that this was happening over and over again."