Credible evidence is emerging that former BBC colleagues of Jimmy Savile knew of claims that he was a serial abuser of young boys at many locations, including on the corporation's premises.
A lawyer who specialises in sexual abuse cases is taking evidence from 12 people, both men and women, who claim to have been abused by the presenter. Alan Collins, of Pannone solicitors, said he had spoken to several former colleagues of Savile, who said it was apparently well known within the BBC that the TV presenter was "interested" in young boys.
"The claims appear credible," he added. "They are standalone allegations and stretch back to the early 1970s. There is also 'similar fact' [corroborating] evidence which is compelling."
The BBC has begun an internal review into the "culture and practices of the BBC" during Savile's time at the corporation, led by former judge Dame Janet Smith.
Collins's initial inquiries already suggest that serious questions will have to be asked about why alarm bells did not sound at the corporation decades ago. "My inquiries show there were very strong rumours about Savile in the 1960s," Collins said. "His former colleagues now seem able to expose his darker side, the difficult personality, and that it was well known at the time that he had a sexual interest in children."
The claims are a potential legal minefield for the corporation. If the BBC's managers were aware of the claims and failed to report them, Collins argues, they could be found to have committed a criminal offence. He added that, if the allegations against Savile were confirmed, they indicated the presenter was not "simply a random and opportunist child abuser" but someone who "would have needed help" from others to perpetrate his crimes.
"There are serious questions to answer," Collins said. "The story is not about Savile. The real story is how was he able to get away with abusing children, if that is what was happening, for so long. They [the BBC] were in awe of this man and were scared of him. If you allow that dominating culture to develop, all the child abuse measures in the world aren't going to stop that."
Collins said he was examining multiple claims that the presenter had abused children at the Haut de La Garenne children's home in Jersey; at the pleasure gardens on Portsmouth's seafront; and at a special needs school thought to be in south-east England. There have already been widely discussed claims that Savile abused children and patients at Stoke Mandeville Hospital and Broadmoor. The children's charity NSPCC has described Savile as "a well-organised prolific sex offender".
"He was different from a normal abuser, someone who abuses in one place, or accesses children in one place," Collins said. "Because of who he was, he was able to go from place to place."
Collins said the civil cases he was preparing for damages would draw on testimony from alleged victims and potentially from Savile's former colleagues at the BBC. He said they would reference Savile's own boasts about his sex life.
Scotland Yard has launched a formal criminal investigation into the alleged sexual abuse by Savile and others. The Metropolitan police said that more than 400 lines of inquiry had been "assessed" and more than 200 potential victims have been identified.
Collins said experience suggested the numbers were just the "tip of the iceberg" because "most victims don't come forward, for obvious reasons".
He described the scandal as a wake-up call. "It demonstrates that, despite all the abuse and inquiries we have had down the years, they don't add up to a row of beans. There's now an opportunity to face up to the problem of child abuse."
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