BBC 'appalled' at Jimmy Savile sexual abuse revelations

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/jan/11/bbc-appalled-jimmy-savile-sexual-abuse

Version 0 of 1.

The BBC has said it is "appalled" by the sexual abuse carried out by Jimmy Saville on its premises, which on Friday was revealed to have occurred up until the final edition of Top of the Pops in 2006. But the corporation denied that it had dismissed the idea to set up a helpline for Savile's victims.

Friday's Metropolitan police and NSPCC report into Savile's sexual abuse revealed that the most recent allegation against the late presenter on BBC premises was during filming of the final edition of Top of the Pops, when he sexually assaulted a teenage girl.

The BBC now faces civil compensation claims from victims who believe they were physically or psychologically harmed by the abuse.

Alan Collins, the solicitor from law firm Pannone, said on Friday he had six or seven claims underway against the BBC, out of a total of 24 civil claims relating to Savile.

Collins added that the abuse claims against the BBC related to assaults during the production of Top of the Pops and Jim'll Fix It.

Peter Saunders, chief executive of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac), said former BBC director general George Entwistle had wanted to set up a hotline similar to Childline when revelations of the Savile abuse first gained widespread publicity in October, but the plan had been quashed by BBC Trust chairman, Lord Patten.

However, the BBC Trust said this was "not an accurate account of events".

"The BBC worked with, and took advice from, both the NSPCC and Napac in the immediate aftermath of the Savile revelations," said the trust in a statement.

"Initial discussions were held with both organisations around the need for a dedicated hotline for victims, which would have been run by the NSPCC with the assistance of Napac.

"The chairman of the NSPCC told Lord Patten that he believed that there was no need for the BBC to establish a separate hotline as he was confident that they were fully able to deal with the volume of calls.

"Lord Patten never dismissed the idea. Although Napac would still have preferred to launch a new helpline, the BBC decided not to proceed following further discussions with both charities.

"In response to today's report itself, the BBC Trust believes the details now made public are truly shocking and we reiterate our sincere apologies to all the victims of Jimmy Savile."

Friday's report revealed the full extent of Savile's abuse of children across six decades at hospitals, schools and a children's hospice.

He offended while working for the BBC between 1965 and as recently as 2006, the first time this has been revealed.

He sexually assaulted a teenage girl at the final recording of Top of the Pops, which reunited presenters past and present of the long-running music programme which was by nearly 4 million viewers.

A BBC spokesman said: "The police report into Jimmy Savile contains shocking revelations.

"As we have made clear, the BBC is appalled that some of the offences were committed on its premises. We would like to restate our sincere apology to the victims of these crimes.

"The BBC will continue to work with the police to help them investigate these matters.

"We have also set up the Dame Janet Smith Review to help us understand how these crimes could have been committed and how we can avoid them happening ever again."

The BBC said it had "ongoing discussions" with the NSPCC and Napac about how best to help the victims of abuse, including a helpline.

"A range of options around helplines were discussed early on, but it was ultimately decided that a new helpline would not be set up immediately, although the situation would be kept under review," it said.

"The BBC has made it clear that it remains at the disposal of the charities and is keen to support them in any way that it can."

Entwistle resigned as director general of the BBC after failing to cope adequately with the fallout from the Savile scandal on 10 November, after just 54 days in charge.

He resigned with a £450,000 payoff in the wake of the scandal, which dramatically escalated in early November with Newsnight's report wrongly implicating Lord McAlpine in a story about sexual abuse.

• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".

• To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook.