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Jimmy Savile spent nights with girls in hospital rooms, says Leeds porter Jimmy Savile spent nights with girls in hospital rooms, says Leeds porter
(about 7 hours later)
Jimmy Savile took over staff bedrooms reserved for surgeons and nurses at Leeds general infirmary to spend nights with teenage girls, often two at a time, a porter who worked alongside Savile when he volunteered at the hospital has told the Guardian. Jimmy Savile used staff bedrooms reserved for surgeons and nurses at Leeds general infirmary to spend nights with teenage girls, a porter who worked alongside Savile when he volunteered at the hospital has claimed.
Savile did shifts at the Yorkshire infirmary from at least 1968 and was known for cheerily pushing patients on trolley beds into operating theatres. But he was also exploiting his access to bring girls, apparently from outside the hospital, some suspected to be under 16, into staff rooms in the early hours of the morning, according to Terry Pratt, who worked as a porter at the hospital until about a year ago. Savile worked shifts and visited patients at the West Yorkshire infirmary from at least 1968 and was known for cheerily pushing the ill around on trolley beds into operating theatres.
"He would come in about 1am or 2am because there were bedrooms up there and he could get out of the way," said Pratt, who worked night shifts and witnessed Savile bring different pairs of girls in, "one on each arm", during 1981 and 1982. "He would say 'hello' to the shift leader, 'can I go in the nurses rooms again?' He would come about two times a week, say on a Monday and again on a Thursday. It was debatable whether the girls were 16. They were definitely in their teens. When they started talking to you it was obvious they weren't streetwise, especially being out at that time in the morning. It was different people each time and he never brought them back through our room. There was always a car waiting. On one occasion when I went for a breath of fresh air I saw the girls get into the back and he would get into the driver's seat and drive them off." But according to Terry Pratt, who worked as a porter at the hospital for two decades until 2010, the entertainer was also exploiting his access to bring girls, apparently from outside the hospital – some suspected to be under 16 – into staff rooms in the early hours of the morning.
Pratt said the rooms were intended for nurses and travelling specialist surgeons and Savile knew they were often empty. He would use them despite having a home in the Roundhay suburb of Leeds less than three miles from the hospital. They are now used as administrative offices by the Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust which is facing parallel Metropolitan police and Department of Health inquiries into Savile's activities. "He would come in about 1am or 2am because there were bedrooms up there and he could get out of the way," Pratt told the Guardian. Pratt, 65, worked night shifts and said he witnessed Savile bring different pairs of girls in, "one on each arm". "He would say 'Hello' to the shift leader, 'Can I go in the nurses' rooms again?'" He said Savile would sometimes come as often as twice a week: "Say on a Monday and again on a Thursday."
The name of a doctor who allegedly collaborated with the star in child abuse at Leeds general has been reported to Scotland Yard detectives and June Thornton, a former nurse at the infirmary, earlier this month said Savile molested a brain-damaged young girl who was a patient at the hospital. Thornton was recovering from an operation herself when she said she saw Savile "kissing her neck, running his hands up and down her arms, and then started to molest her". "It was debatable whether the girls were 16," Pratt said. "They were definitely in their teens. When they started talking to you it was obvious they weren't streetwise, especially being out at that time in the morning. It was different people each time and he never brought them back through our room. There was always a car waiting. On one occasion when I went for a breath of fresh air I saw the girls get into the back and he would get into the driver's seat and drive them off."
The Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust is understood to treating the claims with caution and is seeking information from other porters who worked at Leeds general hospital when Savile was a volunteer. Pratt said the rooms were intended for nurses and travelling specialist surgeons and Savile knew they were often empty. Savile had a home in the Roundhay suburb of Leeds less than three miles from the hospital. The rooms are now used as administrative offices by the Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust which is facing parallel Metropolitan police and Department of Health inquiries into Savile's activities during his association with the general infirmary spanning five decades.
"The trust is in contact with senior detectives from the Metropolitan police and we have indicated our intention to help with their inquiries," a spokesman said. "If there are any issues which need to be addressed following the police investigation then we will take action." "We are shocked at the nature and extent of the very serious allegations which continue to be made against Jimmy Savile," a spokesman said. The Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust on Wednesday treated Pratt's claims with caution. Pratt originally said he thought he saw Savile bringing girls into the hospital in the early 1980s, but the trust said he only worked there from 1990 to 2010. Pratt on Wednesday said he had made a mistake over the dates and that he meant the early 1990s. "I stand by what I said," he said.
Another former porter who managed Pratt and still works for the trust told the Guardian Savile did come into the hospital in the early hours of the morning on several occasions. The porter said that on one occasion in the late 1980s he arrived at the porters' area with two women but he said there was no evidence of Savile taking the women to rooms.
"There didn't seem to be anything wrong, the women were in their early 20s," said the porter, who requested anonymity. "He said, 'I'll leave them with you,' and he went and did the rounds of the accident and emergency department. He looked like he had been to a party, he was in his tracksuit."
The hospital said it is seeking information from other porters who worked at Leeds general hospital when Savile was a volunteer. Pratt is Thursday due to meet Craig Richardson, head of facilities at the trust, to discuss the allegations.
The claims came as detectives from Scotland Yard's Operation Yewtree investigation into Savile Wednesday arrived at the trust's headquarters in Leeds to interview senior staff over Savile's activities at its premises.
The name of a doctor who allegedly collaborated with the star in child abuse at Leeds general has been reported to Scotland Yard detectives.
June Thornton, a former nurse at the infirmary, said this month Savile molested a brain-damaged young girl who was a patient at the hospital. Thornton was recovering from an operation herself when she said she saw Savile "kissing her neck, running his hands up and down her arms, and then started to molest her".
"The trust is in contact with senior detectives from the Metropolitan police and we have indicated our intention to help with their inquiries," a trust spokesman said.
"If there are any issues which need to be addressed following the police investigation then we will take action. We are shocked at the nature and extent of the very serious allegations which continue to be made against Jimmy Savile.
"We have already made it clear we do not have any record of complaints about Jimmy Savile's behaviour made during the time he was a volunteer and charity supporter at Leeds general infirmary or at any of our other hospitals.""We have already made it clear we do not have any record of complaints about Jimmy Savile's behaviour made during the time he was a volunteer and charity supporter at Leeds general infirmary or at any of our other hospitals."
The spokesman conceded that records for the hospital going back to the 1980s and before were difficult to search because of changes in governance structures. The spokesman said records for the hospital going back to the 1980s and before were difficult to search because of changes in governance structures.
"Since then we are aware there have been allegations about incidents said to have taken place at the hospital, which clearly are of great concern to us. This whole matter needs to be looked into fully and we are currently giving every co-operation to the police.""Since then we are aware there have been allegations about incidents said to have taken place at the hospital, which clearly are of great concern to us. This whole matter needs to be looked into fully and we are currently giving every co-operation to the police."
In 1974, several years after he started volunteering, Savile told the Guardian he had "a guilt feeling" about his work at Leeds general, Broadmoor and Stoke Mandeville. In 1974, several years after he started volunteering, Savile said he had "a guilt feeling" about his work at Leeds, Broadmoor and Stoke Mandeville.
"I get so much enjoyment working in these places that I should actually be paying them to allow me in," he said. "I get so much enjoyment working in these places that I should actually be paying them to allow me in," he said. "It took me 10 minutes to do my job at the BBC today. I can come back here, but what can I do for the rest of the day? If you want to have a booze-up, you have a booze-up but that doesn't turn me on."
"It took me 10 minutes to do my job at the BBC today. I can come back here, but what can I do for the rest of the day? If you want to have a booze-up, you have a booze-up but that doesn't turn me on."