BBC chief issues an apology to Jimmy Savile’s ‘abuse victims’

George Entwistle yesterday said he wanted to say sorry on behalf of the corporation to the women who claim to have suffered at Sir Jimmy’s hands.

Mr Entwistle also pledged that the BBC would carry out its own inquiry into the scandal surrounding one of the biggest names in its history.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “These are awful allegations that have been made and they are criminal allegations and the first thing I want to say is that the women involved here have gone through something awful, something I deeply regret they should have to go through and I would like to apologise on behalf of the organisation to each and every one of them for what they’ve had to endure here.”

Mr Entwistle said any investigation needed to happen in “two phases”, and the BBC would “take a look properly” after the police’s involvement had run its course.

He said: “At the heart of what went on are a series of criminal allegations about the behaviour of Sir Jimmy Savile. Now, the way to deal with those is to make sure that the police, who are the only properly constituted authority for dealing with criminal investigations, are allowed to make the examinations and inquiries they need to make.

“So... it is critically important that we start by putting the BBC at the disposal of the police in this regard.”

More than 40 women are now reported to have come forward claiming they were abused by Yorkshire star Sir Jimmy, who died aged 84 in October last year.

The majority of those have spoken out following an ITV documentary in which five women said they were indecently assaulted by the TV and radio star as schoolgirls in the 1960s and 70s.

Some claim to have been attacked on BBC premises and rumours about Sir Jimmy’s behaviour are said to have been rife within the corporation.

Talking about the decision to drop a report on Sir Jimmy from BBC2’s Newsnight programme, Mr Entwistle said: “With the benefit of hindsight I think we could all wish that Newsnight had been able to go as far as ITV went.”

Rob Wilson, Conservative MP for Reading East, welcomed the BBC’s pledge to hold an inquiry into the case.

But he also said: “This goes much wider than criminality, this goes to a culture that seemingly existed and this is said by people who were in that environment at the time, a culture that existed which was a pretty rotten culture, that allowed young girls to be molested and worse and presenters to be fondled by other celebrities.”

Scotland Yard has taken the national lead in assessing the allegations against Sir Jimmy.

Former Radio 1 DJ Liz Kershaw has described how she was routinely groped by another presenter as she was broadcasting.

Kershaw, who studied at the University of Leeds, said Sir Jimmy’s behaviour was an “open secret” at Radio 1 when she joined in 1987.

TV and radio presenter Sandi Toksvig has also told how she was groped on air by a “famous individual” 30 years ago.

Ms Toksvig, who declined to name the celebrity, said when she informed other staff what had happened they thought it was funny.