‘Creepy’ Savile was barred from role with BBC’s Children in Need

JIMMY Savile was secretly barred from involvement with the BBC’s Children in Need charity appeal amid concerns about his “creepy” behaviour.

The former chairman of Children in Need, Sir Roger Jones, said yesterday that a conscious decision had been made to keep Savile away from the appeal, which he admitted was like a “honeypot” for paedophiles seeking access to youngsters.

Sir Roger, who is also an ex-BBC governor, said: “I think we all recognised he was a pretty creepy sort of character.

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“When I was with Children in Need, we took the decision that we didn’t want him anywhere near to the charity and we just stepped up our child protection policies, which again would have put him at great risk if he tried anything.”

Sir Roger, who chaired Children in Need from 1999 to 2002, conceded he never had hard evidence that the late BBC TV and radio host was a paedophile.

But he added: “A guy with a big cigar in his mouth, [wearing] a string vest covered in gold chains and trinkets – is this really the guy who we want to become a hero for kids?

“I had no evidence but I found his behaviour was very strange.”

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Sir Roger’s comments came as an inquiry began into the BBC’s “culture and practices” during the time when Savile is alleged to have been abusing children.

Led by former Court of Appeal judge Dame Janet Smith, it was ordered after claims the star carried out attacks on BBC premises.

Rumours about his behaviour are reported to have been rife within the corporation at the height of his fame in the 1970s and 1980s.

Police believe Savile may have had as many as 300 victims over the course of six decades.

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It has also emerged that seven of his alleged victims made complaints to four separate police forces while he was still alive.

Scotland Yard’s commissioner yesterday acknowledged that “a pattern of behaviour” by Leeds-born Savile could have been exposed if the claims against him had been linked.

Bernard Hogan-Howe said police and other organisations had failed to “put together” allegations prior to his death.

Mr Hogan-Howe added that improvements had been made to the sharing of police data, following the murders of schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002.

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Scotland Yard was handed the national lead on the Savile case after an ITV documentary about the presenter’s private life unleashed an avalanche of allegations at the start of this month.

Mr Hogan-Howe said some of the new claims involved figures in the entertainment industry other than Savile.

Former pop singer Gary 
Glitter has already been arrested and bailed as part of Operation Yewtree, Scotland Yard’s 
codename for the Savile investigation.

Savile died a year ago yesterday at his home in Leeds.

A string of charities and other groups have severed their ties with his memory since the allegations about his conduct came to light.

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The Jim’ll Fix It host’s gravestone has also been removed from Scarborough’s Woodlands Cemetery at his family’s request.

Police forces across the country have seen an increase in sexual abuse claims in the wake of the Savile scandal, a child protection expert said yesterday.

Peter Davies, chief executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, also said it was “far better” for victims to come forward and get a chance for closure and potential justice.

“Anecdotally it is very clear that forces up and down the country are experiencing an increase in disclosure,” he said.

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“If this is harm that has happened to people however long ago, it is far better for it to be reported and to give the victims some opportunities to get some closure and possibly some justice than just leave it lying.”

The NSPCC has received 190 calls directly relating to Savile, the most accusations it has ever had against one individual.