Jimmy and the BBC

Sex abuse allegations against the once-loved British presenter have rocked a generation raised on his popular TV shows

24 October 2012 

Jimmy Savile was an eccentric British DJ, TV host and a tireless charity worker who was a big media personality in the UK for close to 40 years. When he died, aged 84 in October 2011, the former coal miner was one of Britain's most well-known personalities, famous for his trademark fat cigar and garish tracksuits.

Savile was a Catholic teetotaller who worshipped his mother and was knighted for his charitable work in 1990, the same year he was given a papal knighthood by pope John Paul II. But, unbeknown to most people, Savile was a paedophile, and police believe he used his position to abuse hundreds of children across the UK.

A year after Savile's death, Scotland Yard revealed it had launched an investigation into his involvement in allegations of child sex abuse "on an unprecedented scale".

Jim'll Fix It, Savile's most famous show, was a ratings hit and a family favourite, broadcast in the Saturday "teatime" slot – a prestigious spot for British broadcasters' flagship shows. The programme involved Savile making people's (usually children's) dreams come true.

The BBC, the UK's most respected media organisation, is now accused of having, at the very least, turned a blind eye to allegations of Savile's behaviour – some of which is said to have occurred on its premises to children Savile had met on his shows. An investigation by the BBC's Newsnight programme was scrapped amid allegations of pressure from senior executives. The BBC said it was dropped because of editorial reasons.

Lord Patten, the chairman of the BBC Trust, the BBC's governing body, has spoken of a "the appalling allegations, the cesspit of the Jimmy Savile allegations". John Simpson, veteran BBC foreign correspondent and one of Britain's most respected journalists, has called the scandal "the worst crisis that I can remember in my nearly 50 years at the BBC". Prime minister David Cameron has said: "The nation is appalled by the allegations of what Jimmy Savile did, and they seem to get worse by the day."

So far 12 victims are believed to have come forward and are considering legal action against the BBC and others. Scotland Yard has said Savile may have been at the centre of a network of paedophiles who targeted more than 200 victims. Police are investigating whether he had accomplices: former pop star and convicted paedophile Gary Glitter is alleged to have raped a 13-year-old girl in a BBC dressing room.

According to reports, Savile abused sick and disabled children at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Berkshire, a hospital that was the beneficiary of millions of pounds raised by Savile, and where he boasted he had his own bedroom. The hospital has said it has "no record" of complaints about him.

The British Broadcasting Corporation is an organisation as central to life in the UK as the National Health Service. While it is not in the strict sense a state broadcaster, it is funded by a compulsory £145.50 ($231.79) TV license. While the broadcaster is held in so much affection that its nickname is "Auntie", ot is also an object of fierce criticism from media rivals who argue that the TV levy has given the BBC an unfair commercial advantage.

The Savile scandal has prompted a fierce debate about the culture of the BBC, an institution run by "control freaks and cowards" according to the newspaper columnist Max Hastings.

Criticism is just as strong within the BBC. Reporters on Newsnight, the BBC's flagship and often hard-hitting current affairs show, have said they believe their editor, Peter Rippon, was under pressure from BBC bosses to drop an investigation into the allegations. Rippon wrote a blog post about the dropping of the show that contained a number of inaccuracies and has been described as a "matter of regret and embarrassment" by BBC director general George Entwistle. A rival BBC show, Panorama, this week broadcast a film that detailed the tensions within the BBC over the Newsnight report.

The British police and the BBC are now conducting formal investigations into the allegations. Under questioning from members of parliament, Entwistle was accused of "an extraordinary lack of curiosity" when first told about Newsnight's Savile investigation. Entwistle was not directly responsible for Newsnight at the time but he did have responsibility for BBC1, which was planning a Savile tribute.

Pressure is also on Mark Thompson, pictured, Entwistle's predecessor and now incoming chief executive of the New York Times. Thompson has said he is prepared to be questioned by MPs but that he was "never formally notified" about Newsnight's Savile investigation. In a blogpost, the New York Times' public editor Margaret Sullivan said the Times must not "pull its punches" covering the story. "His integrity and decision-making are bound to affect the Times and its journalism – profoundly. It's worth considering now whether he is the right person for the job, given this turn of events."

The BBC has some "very big questions" to answer, according to John Whittingdale, the chairman of the culture, media and sport select committee in the British parliament

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