Dig up Savile’s body and burn it, says his nephew

Guy Marsden, a nephew of the disgraced DJ, said he “100%” supported families who called for Savile’s body to be moved away from the graves of their loved ones in Scarborough’s Woodlands Cemetery following claims that Savile abused 300 people over six decades.

Mr Marsden, of Leeds, said: “If it was one of mine who was buried there, I wouldn’t like it if someone like Jimmy was in the same place.

“Our thoughts are with their loved ones.

“At the end of the day, they say his grave can be exhumed and they can cremate Jimmy Savile and they can put him in a private place known only to the family. But who’d want to visit him anyway? I wouldn’t want to know.

“I know that a lot of my family would say the same.”

Mr Marsden, a roofer, stressed that no formal plans to exhume Savile had been made and he has not been offered any official guidance on the matter, but said he would support the plans if they went ahead.

Calls to dig up the late BBC star were made public at a Scarborough Borough Council meeting on Monday, during which the council voted to remove his name from its Freedom of the Borough honours list.

Cllr Colin Haddington, for Filey, said the family of a young child buried very close to Savile’s grave was particularly distressed.

He said: “I was approached by one of my constituents who informed me that her granddaughter is buried in Woodlands Cemetery and unfortunately Jimmy Savile has been buried very close by this lady’s granddaughter.

“This has caused a great deal of distress to the constituent and her family.

“I put it to the council that if Jimmy Savile’s body could be exhumed or cremated.”

Council leaders said the decision to move the disgraced presenter could only be made by Savile’s family and they had no current plans to exhume the body.

Meanwhile police confirmed that Savile may have been questioned by detectives investigating the Yorkshire Ripper murders.

The revelation came after a senior officer who worked on the inquiry revealed Savile was a suspect in the notorious case more than 30 years ago.

Former West Yorkshire Police detective John Stainthorpe said police approached the Leeds-born presenter after an anonymous tip-off.

Mr Stainthorpe told ITV’s Calendar News: “When the Ripper was really active, one of the suspects put forward by the public was, in fact, Jimmy Savile. Obviously, it was not he, but he was interviewed along with many others.”

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “As with thousands of other men in Leeds at the time, he may at some time have been approached by detectives on the investigation.

“What is without doubt is that Savile was clearly not the Yorkshire Ripper.”

The Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe, has jumped to the defence of Savile, who he says befriended him during regular visits to Broadmoor high security hospital.

He told the Sun newspaper that those making allegations were “jumping on the bandwagon”.

Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women in 1981 and sentenced to life imprisonment. He remains at Broadmoor and has been told he will never be freed.

Savile, who died last year aged 84, has also been linked to allegations of abuse at a care home in North Wales.

The Sun claimed boys were molested for his “entertainment” at Bryn Estyn in the 1970s.

Lawyers representing Savile’s alleged victims said they have notified his estate executors, the BBC and three hospitals that they plan to launch damages claims against them.

Savile’s £4 million estate has already been frozen by executors NatWest.

Law firm Pannone, which has been contacted by 46 of his alleged victims, says it has received “firm instructions” to proceed with eight claims.

Seven will be made against Savile’s estate and one against the BBC and his estate jointly.

All victims were aged between 10 and 13 when the alleged abuse took place in the late 1960s and 1970s.

Liz Dux, an expert in child abuse cases at lawyers Russell, Jones & Walker, said she has been contacted by around 35 victims.

She said letters have been sent to the BBC and Leeds General Infirmary, Stoke Mandeville and Broadmoor hospitals telling them legal action is planned against them. NatWest has also been contacted in its role as estate executor.