Savile report ‘played things down’ says MP as three more child victims revealed

West Yorkshire Police appeared to suggest there had been only one five-year-old victim in papers published on Friday examining the force’s dealings with the disgraced ex-BBC DJ and presenter.

Labour MP Fabian Hamilton, whose North East Leeds constituency includes Roundhay, where Savile lived, said the report “played things down” after the force admitted he had also abused three other five-year-olds in West Yorkshire.

The revelation comes as a further blow to the credibility of the already-criticised report, in which West Yorkshire Police said “the youngest victim was five years old at the time of the offence”.

Nobody at the force was available to comment last night but a spokesman was yesterday reported as admitting it may have been “slightly misleading”.

Mr Hamilton said: “I think it definitely does play things down – but within its restricted terms of reference the report is reasonable.

“My criticism is that the confines of the report are far too narrow. They should have had a much wider investigation.”

Mr Hamilton said he believed there had been a “failure of judgment” by individual officers “blinded by his celebrity” rather than a systemic failure.

“None of that was really taken apart,” he said, adding protecting officers’ identities in the report was “perhaps a mistake”. He added: “Certainly further investigation should be made”.

“The police should make it their business to ... talk to those victims and ask them exactly what happened if they came forward at the time, find out where and when and approach officers if they are still alive and still serving.”

Mr Hamilton said he intended to take the matter up with West Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Mark Burns-Williamson, this week.

“Savile is dead, and there is nothing that can be done to him, but the purpose of doing all this is to ensure victims are never treated this way again,” he said.

The NSPCC has branded the latest revelations “truly appalling” and said the information should have been made public sooner.