Lawyer who represented Jimmy Savile victims issues warning about prosecution claims

Alan Collins said survivors may “recoil” after Prime Minister Boris Johnson accused Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer of failing to prosecute the notorious paedophile while he was director of public prosecutions.

Sir Keir, who has described the claim as “a conspiracy theory of violent fascists”, was head of the Crown Prosecution Service in 2009 when a decision was taken not to prosecute Savile, but he had no personal involvement in the deliberations.

Following Savile’s death in 2011, it emerged that the entertainer had sexually abused hundreds of women and children.

Mr Collins, the partner at Hugh James Solicitors brought the proceedings against Savile’s estate on behalf of his victims, said: “The angst that we have witnessed over recent days suggests that those in power have not understood the Savile legacy.

“To reduce the Savile tragedy to a term of abuse or political invective, or a reason for protest begs the question: do you understand the reasons why he was able to abuse so many?

“We know that many of Savile’ victims were unable to come forward because they thought they would be dismissed if not ridiculed.

“My fear is that victims and survivors who have not been disclosed are not going to draw strength from the arguments about the prime minister’s comments but will recoil.

“Why would a survivor want to disclose their very personal account of childhood abuse against a noisy backdrop about Savile not being prosecuted?”

He added: “It is too easy to simply dismiss Savile as a sex offender who got away with it. We can only speculate as to what might have happened had he been prosecuted.

“What we do know is that his victims only had the confidence to come forward and speak to the police and give evidence to the inquiries into Savile’ conduct once they realised that they would be taken seriously."

Sir Keir ordered an independent review into the decision not to prosecute him in 2009. It said the accounts of the victims were treated “with a degree of caution which was neither justified nor required” and with a different approach, a prosecution may have been possible. But there was no evidence found of any “improper motive on the part of either police or prosecutors”.

Following the publication of the findings in January 2013, Sir Keir said they represented a "watershed moment" for the Crown Prosecution Service and later that year, the organisation updated its guidance on prosecuting child sexual abuse in England and Wales.

A host of Conservative and opposition MPs have called for Mr Johnson to apologise for what was branded a “scurrilous accusation” against Sir Keir.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman acknowledged his original words last week in the Commons were “capable of being misconstrued” and said that was why he subsequently issued a “clarification”.

“The Prime Minister clarified his remarks last week to make clear he was not suggesting Keir Starmer was individually responsible for the Savile decision,” he said.

“I think the Prime Minister was making a political point about taking responsibility for organisations as a whole.”