Detectives referred to police watchdog over Savile sex claim

Opening of the new Spinal Injuries Rehabilitation centre at Pinderfields Hospital.Sir Jimmy Savile

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has told Sussex Police to refer the conduct of the pair over their handling of the alleged indecent assault.

West Yorkshire Police, which already faces an IPCC probe over allegations one of its inspectors “acted on behalf” of Savile, has been asked to provide more information about its dealings with the Leeds-born DJ following the publication of its Operation Newgreen report.

A number of forces were told earlier this year to pass on all documentation they had relating to Savile. Several, including North Yorkshire Police, have now been told they face no further action because there was “insufficient evidence of any recordable conduct matters specific to individual police officers”.

The Sussex referral concerns a woman who came forward in March 2008 to claim Savile assaulted her in a caravan in around 1970, when she was in her early 20s.

This was referred to prosecutors with three other allegations against Savile received by Surrey Police, but in 2009 the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided no action could be taken.

Earlier this year, the CPS admitted this was a missed chance to charge Savile while he was alive, because victims were not taken seriously enough.

Alison Levitt QC found that “had the police and prosecutors taken a different approach” prosecutions could have been possible in relation to three victims. The two officers were referred to as DS O and DC T in Ms Levitt’s report, and came under fire for wrongly telling the alleged victim that her claims would need to be corroborated before any prosecution.

She withdrew her support for police action because she feared she would struggle to find the information they said they needed, for example contact details for people she knew at the time.

A spokesman for Sussex Police said the two officers had not been suspended and the force would comply with the decision to refer the conduct of the pair to the IPCC.

She added that the force had been asked for documentation about the incident, including a view “on the potential for any police misconduct investigation” by the IPCC in February, and sent a full response the next month.