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    Police to make arrests over BBC's "tsunami of filth"

    LONDON (Reuters) - British police investigating alleged sexual abuse by one of the BBC's most celebrated TV stars said on Thursday some 300 victims had come forward and they were preparing to make arrests in a scandal that has thrown the broadcaster into disarray.

    Detectives said they had been staggered by the number of people who had come forward since the late Jimmy Savile's crimes were first revealed just over three weeks ago.

    The head of the BBC's governing body called the allegations a "tsunami of filth", and police said Savile was "undoubtedly" one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders ever.

    "It's quite staggering," said the police inquiry leader, Commander Peter Spindler.

    Having interviewed 130 of the alleged victims, officers had recorded 114 reports of sexual assault or serious sexual assault, mostly against Savile - the outlandish, cigar-chomping DJ turned TV host who was one of the BBC's top presenters of the 1970s and 1980s.

    The allegations, which first emerged in an expose on the rival British TV channel ITV, have rocked the BBC, with its chief George Entwistle admitting the broadcaster has been damaged by the scandal.

    The revelations have generated huge attention, not least in the United States where Entwistle's predecessor at the BBC, Mark Thompson, is poised to take over as chief executive of the New York Times.

    On Wednesday, lawyers representing some 30 alleged victims of abuse told Reuters their clients said other celebrities were involved, while some of those abused by Savile have told the media they were targeted on BBC premises.

    "We are preparing an arrest strategy now," Spindler told reporters, adding he could not identify who their suspects were or whether they also had worked for the BBC. "We do have a number of other people that we can investigate."

    Entwistle, who only took over the most prestigious role in British media in September, appeared before a parliamentary commission this week to explain why the BBC had dropped its own investigation shortly after Savile died last year.

    His performance in parliament was described as "lamentable" by one lawmaker, and his overall handling of one of the worst crises in the BBC's 90-year history has been widely condemned.

    Prime Minister David Cameron has said the BBC, paid for by an annual tax on all households with a colour TV, had serious questions to answer.

    "TERRIBLE DAMAGE"

    "We have to deal with the terrible damage to the reputation of the BBC which has hitherto been a national institution which people have trusted," Chris Patten, chairman of the BBC Trust which oversees the broadcaster, told BBC Radio.

    "It was a very, very difficult initial baptism of fire for a new director general of the BBC, this great tsunami of filth broke over him 11 days into the job."

    Savile, knighted by The Queen for his charity work and famous for his garish outfits and long blonde hair, was a household name in Britain but little known beyond its shores.

    Such has been the publicity surrounding the case that Spindler said the number of historic abuse allegations reported to police in London alone had trebled, calling their inquiry a "watershed moment for child abuse investigation".

    He said they were investigating three categories of offences; those that involved just Savile which made up the vast majority of cases; those involving Savile and others; and those which had no direct link to Savile.

    At this stage there was no evidence of any organised paedophile rings and offenders appeared to be opportunists, Spindler added.

    He revealed that a retired officer had come forward to say he had investigated Savile in the 1980s over allegations of indecent assault but there had not been enough evidence to pursue a prosecution.

    (Additional reporting by Stephen Addison; Editing by Maria Golovnina)

    692 comments

    • Chris C  •  2 months ago
      What's really alarming is that this guy had been in broadcasting for all of SIXTY YEARS, and he might have been abusing the whole time. Imagine -- women who are now grandmothers might have been molested by him when they were girls. How did he get away with it? By creating such a saintlike public persona that no one in authority questioned his actions, and none of his victims felt they could be taken seriously if they came forward.

      No one ought to be placed on such a lofty pedestal, be they TV personalities or sports figures or clergy or anyone.
    • skeptik  •  2 months ago
      Never make jokes or insults about a particular nationality. Every country's got perverts. It never stops and it's always disgusting.
    • be Happy  •  2 months ago
      Probably just the tip of the iceberg.
    • Tranquilo  •  2 months ago
      In THIS article, I don't detect one whiff of sorrow for the children by the BBC.
    • L. Kõiv  •  2 months ago
      This guy always disgusted me. Prancing around, always with an unlit cigar in his mouth (even at Royal ceremonies), touching girls and being an overall cheese no matter where he went. I wish these allegations had arisen before he kicked the bucket last year. It would have been nice to have seen his face when he saw his namesakes taken down. Why on Earth they ever named the conference center in Leeds "Saviles Hall" after this fool is beyond me. "New Dock Hall it shall be, free from sexual travesty" said the man that took down the sign with Savile's name on it. I wish death upon no man, but I read this molester's obituary with a smile; seeing these allegations REALLY come to light is mere icing on the cake.
    • D.  •  2 months ago
      300 - and nothing until after he is dead? #$%$? If this was me - and I was approached I'd scream bloody murder. We kids were taught that if something is not right with a stranger - make noise - a lot of it. Are we so politically correct today that no one will do what is right?
    • acey  •  2 months ago
      The BBC top brass is shocked and appalled (that this has finally become public).
    • jason  •  2 months ago
      He's Britain's Sandusky
    • Brainiac  •  2 months ago
      Not only is the story lacking in any details about the tsunami of filth but I don't even have a clear idea of what the "star" did to make him famous.
    • Eleatic Stranger  •  2 months ago
      Not only was Jimmy Savile the worst child sex predator that Britain has ever had, but the BBC executives were his enablers and accomplices. They should all be prosecuted for what they did - and any other dirty celebrities who were also involved in the BBC's house of ill repute.