Savile victims call for inquiry

Victims of the late TV presenter Jimmy Savile are calling for a single inquiry into how he escaped justice when alive, amid fears that lessons are not being learnt from the case.

There are presently about 30 separate investigations taking place into the activities of the former Radio 1 DJ undertaken by organisations with which Mr Savile had links, including the BBC and the NHS. However, victims are calling for one single wide-ranging inquiry, chaired by a High Court judge, to ensure that important questions surrounding the case are answered.

The BBC is due to publish its findings later this month while 32 NHS hospitals are looking into concerns that he abused vulnerable patients during his visits there. Some reports have already published their findings with one by Scotland Yard and the NSPCC describing Savile, who died in 2011, as a “prolific, predatory sex offender”, who had 214 criminal offences recorded against him across 28 separate police forces.

Solicitors representing 60 of Savile’s victims say most are not satisfied by the holding of separate inquiries through the fear that those already looking into the case do not have the necessary independence, scope and power to address important details. They say that only a single inquiry with the power to summon witnesses and release documents will achieve what they are looking for.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/victims-of-jimmy-savile-call-for-a-single-inquiry-9040808.html