BBC and hospitals could face action over Savile claims
A lawyer who is representing more than 20 people who claim to have been sexually assaulted by Jimmy Savile has said that the BBC and three hospitals could face legal action from alleged victims.
The three hospitals at the centre of the abuse allegations are Stoke Mandeville, Leeds General Infirmary and Broadmoor.
Liz Dux said formal notice has been sent to "all interested parties" of an intention to pursue claims against them.
It comes after Freddie Starr, who was arrested yesterday by police officers investigating the Jimmy Savile abuse scandal, returned for further questioning today.
Starr, from Warwickshire, was arrested yesterday and bailed in the early hours of this morning.
He is being interviewed on suspicion of sexual offences and falls under the strand of the investigation classed as "Savile and others".
Ms Dux said some victims had not been able to form adult relationships since the attacks.
She said: "Their main objective is to get answers as to why their previous complaints weren't listened to, to get some sort of compensation and to move on with their lives."
Starr, 69, has strongly denied accusations linked to the abuse claims.
Last month he branded Savile "despicable" and "disgusting", and urged police to interview him so he could clear his name.
His arrest follows that of Gary Glitter on Sunday by officers working on Operation Yewtree.
Former pop star Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was questioned at a central London police station after being detained at his home in the capital.
Savile, who died last year at the age of 84, is now believed to have been one of the UK's most prolific abusers, with about 300 possible victims.
Scotland Yard is leading a national investigation into the television and radio star's activities.
Detectives are following 400 lines of inquiry while the BBC has launched an inquiry into the culture and practices at the corporation in the era of Savile's alleged sexual abuse.
It is also looking at the decision-making process which saw a Newsnight investigation into Savile's activities shelved. The review, led by Nick Pollard, former head of Sky News, will report back on its findings later this month.
Savile's estate, reportedly worth £4.3 million, has been frozen in response to the mounting allegations.
NatWest Bank, which is acting as the Jim'll Fix It presenter's executor and trustee, yesterday revealed that the distribution of his assets had been put on hold in anticipation of legal action from his alleged victims.
Savile's will was written in 2006 and bequeaths his savings and other assets to 26 separate beneficiaries, according to the Financial Times (FT).
The newspaper said it had obtained a copy of the document, which instructs that £20,000 in cash was to be shared between 20 of the celebrity's friends, family and neighbours. It says a further £600,000 was to be put into a trust fund, with the interest shared between eight people.
The remainder – just under £3.7 million before expenses – was to be held by NatWest on behalf of the Jimmy Savile Charitable Trust, according to the FT.
Savile's intended individual beneficiaries include the trustees of both his charities and existing and former employees of Leeds General Infirmary and Broadmoor Hospital, the newspaper added.
Savile's relatives said they do not want a penny of his estate and called for the cash to be donated to an organisation to tackle sex crimes.
The late presenter's nephew, Guy Marsden, 58, said his uncle was "a monster" and it was only right that the money should be given to a police-run anti-paedophile unit, and Savile's victims.
Savile's victims are to sue the star's estate to get answers and compensation, and to "move on with their lives", a lawyer said yesterday.
Lawyers are also looking into the late presenter's overseas assets, thought to be administered from tax haven the Channel Islands.
PR guru Max Clifford said this morning that a lot of old stars are worried about being dragged into the investigation because they had appeared on Top Of The Pops or Jim'll Fix It and merely posed for photographs with girls and Savile.
"It is a situation which could easily turn into a witch hunt, a lot of big stars are frightened," Mr Clifford told ITV's Daybreak.
"Where is it going to end?
"I hope they (the police) concentrate on finding people like Jimmy Savile who were manipulating girls."
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