Saturday October 27th 2012 at 10.10 having completed, published and printed 2274 and had a breakfast of nut, dried fruit and oats cereal I commenced to complete this piece on the Saville Scandal, his infamy, BBC management incompetence, and Tom Watson raises number 10 ghosts.
Around 11am I cleared the front room of plants, washed up and completed 27 minutes of exercise with another session to keep up with my target later in the day. After this I enjoyed ten sprats in batter and bread crumbs with a few grapes and mid afternoon a cuppa soup. I drank iced water. I listened to Sunderland draw 0.0 at Stoke a predictable outcome given the performance of both sides this season to-date.
By the end of this week of reports I am convinced that the Director General of the BBC will be among the casualties of the Saville Scandal because he attempted to distance himself from having been advised of the Newsnight investigation before it was dropped and mishandled the response of the BBC to the ITN disclosures and then made one of the worst performances before a Commons select Committee that I have witnessed in several years. By the end of the week his Chairman, Chris Patten was admitting he had some questions to answer, particularly keeping him in ignorance.
Those arguing that some people in high places covered up Saville’s lifelong criminal behaviour widened with a question to the Prime Minister on Wednesday from Tom Watson which surprisingly the PM accepted that the issue merited further investigation. However these are a distraction from the main concern of the number of victims of Saville and the involvement of others
At some point in the next year or so I hope it will be possible for the police investigating the life of Jimmy Saville by interviewing and taking witness statements from the 300 to 400 individuals who have so far come forward to report behaviour which may have been criminal or inappropriate for someone in the position of trust he held, to give an account of the full extent of his activities as I hope will the BBC and other institutions conducting their separate investigations involving Leeds General Infirmary, Stoke Manderville Hospital and the Broadmoor institution. If not there should be a general Inquiry although while its report should be published the hearings should be in private in terms of the victims of his and the behaviour of others.
As he is dead there can be no formal court cases against him and it is possible that even with a full inquiry it will be impossible now to establish a comprehensive and accurate chronicle of his conduct throughout his involvement with the BBC, and other institutions, the former Girls Approved school and other establishments which he was invited to visit together with the use of mobile homes, vans and other vehicles.
The extraordinary thing about this man is that everything about him suggested that he was a potential threat to children and young people and his recorded comments also indicated something of his behaviour and appetites, indeed one colleagues reported him answering the telephone saying ..“She told me she was sixteen” while he made many public references, some recorded which although could be taken as jests could also be taken as admissions of paedophile interest and practice.
Whatever way the truth becomes available the priority must be the protection of those who have now come forward and who could still only the tip of the iceberg, those who were too young at the time to understand or appreciate what was happening to them and those who did and who reported but were discourage, perhaps by families and friends, and more likely by officialdom who did not want to know, to believe or be bothered.
It has also be said that will have been predatory young women looking to have sex with personalities and then boast to friends about who and the number of such engagements.
I do not believe there would have been many older people who throughout his life felt attractive to the man. Initially his fame was based on the development of popular music and TV programmes with the best known Top of the Pops. Then he progressed to other TV series such as Jim will Fix It and then his various involvements with hospitals and institutions and general fund raising for good causes. It brought him wealth with his Rolls Royce and various organisations provided him with accommodation and the freedom of access to premises and their residents.
The police have said recently that so far there is no evidence of their being an organised ring in which he was a part or its leader. However they do admit that there are two kinds of other inquiries being undertaken.
The first is whether others were complicit in his activities or participated with him. There are those who were singled out for invitations to dressing rooms on BBC premises or taken to “parties.” In the 1960’s or later I certainly remember a period of weeks if not longer when I gained the impression that a camera man or camera men on Top of the Pops took the opportunity to show the public the underclothing of girls wearing short skirts and it struck me at the time that this could only have been done with the help of the production team and its editor of the day who selected the shots from cameras to be shown to the public. Where there appears to be strong evidence of the involvement of others is that it is already established that girls from a particular Approved school were bussed into the studio and in effect made available to Jimmy and his guests on the show for sex as a consequence. Who was responsible for this?
A number of his colleagues admit to having had knowledge in terms of rumours and to what Jimmy is alleged to have said to them but is not clear yet if any participated or knew more and for some reason kept their counsel. They may have their own secrets.
Publicity about Saville on TV and printed media could be expected to bring forward accusations in relation to other Rock and popular music stars and it is my understanding that a significant number of such complaints have now been made and that police feel they have enough information upon which to at least question a number of individuals. According to the evidence of the Director General of the BBC at the House of Commons Culture and Leisure Sport Media Committee on Tuesday morning between 8 and 10 staff or former employees of the BBC are under investigation.
I got as far as the above before deciding to bring this contemporary research and writing period to an end other than top briefly record what I read, watch and listen during the week.
I have read a selection of articles which cover the extent of the Saville crimes, the following articles. The Guardian piece BBC Insiders knew that Jimmy Saville was a serial abuser of young boys, says lawyer Alan Collins of Pannone criminal sex case specialist, Former Judge Dame Janet Smith is conducting one of the BBC investigations. The Haut Garenne Children’s Hone Jersey is another establishment mentioned as well as a special needs school unnamed.
The Daily Telegraph argued that Edwina Curry and the BBC had questions to answer. It was Edwina Curry who appointed Saville to head the Broadmoor Taskforce with temporary powers to oversee the running of the hospital in the 1980‘s when Ken Clark was Health Secretary, Saville stayed at Chequers on a number of occasions. One commentator said it was like Dracula being given the keys to the Blood Bank. Alan Franey who had spent 10 years as administrator Leeds General Infirmary also worked with the same task force. He was invited at what he describes as an unusual meeting with Health officials at the Athenaeum Club. The Broadmoor team was established after claims of a child pornography ring at Broadmoor had been made.
A NHS Executive who took over the running of High Security Hospitals was horrified that Jimmy Saville had the freedom to enter and go about the hospital as he wished.
The suicide of a 15 year old Top of the Pops Dancer is being investigated related to allegations she was a Saville victim.
The Mail on line reported that a well known historian was reprimanded by a BBC controller because a colleague had complained that the man had inappropriately touched her. He said his gesture to embrace the woman 30 years his junior was misinterpreted The Mail also informed that one of the journalists involved in the original Newsnight investigation denied concealing the involvement of one of his relatives in the alleged cover up and scandal. His aunt is said to be the headmistress of the school where several girls are said to be Saville victims. It is said that the journalist did not include an interview with a second victim from Duncroft Approved School because. This was denied by close associates pointing out that the journalist had visited the school as a teenager and had been determined to expose Saville’s involvement knowing it would bring his aunt into the spotlight. Had the programme continued the interview would have been included? Rochelle Shepherd said that when he left from a visit he would tongue kiss the girls touching hem on their breasts. The girl now a woman told the Mail that he headmistress who had been a long term friend must have known about his behaviour. Ms Shepherd confirmed that a number of girls had told the BBC how Saville had criminally assaulted them. The school of intelligent but troubled girls was set up as an experiment. James Robertson Justice and Rab Butler were said to have been other well known visitors to the institution. Karin Warn another former pupil has reported how Saville would sit the girls on his lap and put a hand under their skirts and into their underwear.
The Mail reported the comments of Paul Gambaccini that he was aware of claims against Saville in the including that of necrophilia. The Mail reports that Nicky Campbell attempted to stop the reference because it had not been brought into the public domain. Gambaccini asked why not? And he wondered who had vetted Saville for his knighthood? HE said the rumours were that Saville targeted under age subnormal as the reason why he took such an interest in certain hospitals and institutions. Max Clifford has stated that when he broke the story about Gary Glitter, Saville’s name came up by several sources which he had passed on.
The Independent Reported on the appearance of the Director General of the BBC before the House of Commons Culture Committee on Tuesday October 23rd said the Committee were stunned by what he had to say. I also watched his performance which revealed an abdication of managerial responsibility when having been told there was a Newsnight investigation into Saville which could affect Christmas programming he told the Committee he had noted the briefing by a senior executive but had not enquired about its focus. Responsible for programming had the schedule needed to change because the programme would have made the Saville Tributes impossible to broadcast, I subsequently heard one commentator argue given the range of programmes waiting to be broadcast the BBC would have had no difficulty in finding something suitable to replace. I share the incredulity of the Commons Members. Saville had become a national icon second to none, any kind of inquiry, particularly one by a Newsnight would have aroused concern any and everyone accept this one man. Why on earth did a senior executive take the trouble to mention this to him? The lack of interest on his part at the time beggars belief.
The Independent reveals that the reason why the programme was pulled was because the editor did not consider that having sex with teenagers less than 16 years was not the worst kind of sexual offence. The Editor is also alleged to have declared in writing that the evidence was based just on the women (the victims) but the use of terms also indicates an inappropriate and questionable attitude and statement of mind. The publication of internal emails and other conflicting testimony raises question which are reported to be being asked by Chris Patten Chairman of the BBC Trust that in fact senior managers knew almost immediately that the Editor had published an inaccurate account of why the Newsnight investigation was not screened. The decision to appoint two independent inquiries does not inspire confidence in a situation where the BBC appear to be more concerned about their public reputation and where the police may have also thought it was best to down play their involvement until the avalanche of former young women and some young men, including former child victims came forward.
The Guardian has reported a row breaking out between David Jordon Head of Editorial Policy and Newsnight Producer Meirion Jones because Jones had revealed they had talked as early on October 3rd about the inaccuracy of what Newsnight Editor Peter Rippon was saying were his reasons for dropping the Saville investigation. If this is correct then Jordan must fully investigated as to why he supported Rippon in his misleading and inaccurate statement.
Chris Patten is reported by the Guardian to have fuelled concern at the BBC after telling ITN news that he would not be surprised if there are resignations at the BBC and others involved have legitimate questions to answer and this included the Director General George Entwhistle. Patten himself is under fire because the Commons felt that the Director General has had not grip on the situation. Patten told ITN that throughout his political career he had not experience such apolitical reputation Tsunami,
It was while looking upon references for this piece that I cam across the 1998 April Nick Davies review entitled The Sheer Scale of Child Sexual Abuse in Britain. In an article with several thousand words Davies drew attention to the number of untold stories of powerful people who committed sex crimes and got away with them. He named Peter Morrison a deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party and previously the Member of Parliament for Chester had been arrested before not once but twice have been found with teenage boys in toilets and released by the police. It was claimed that the caution was because he was a powerful man whereas others would have been charged with an offence against children. After he died the police admitted that the records relating to his two arrests had disappeared.
The article referred to a number of sex criminals who had attended a residential child care course in Birmingham where Peter Righton had been a lecturer. Righton had belonged to the Paedophile Information Exchange as had at least one of the men whose activities Davies summarised. Righton became Director of Education at the prestigious National Institute a position from which he was able to influence government policy.
It was then Tom Watson, now deputy chairman of the Labour party and the man who pushed for the Leveson Inquiry who asked the Prime Minister at Question time on Wednesday to check if the file on the prosecution of Righton was still available as it would reveal the existence of ring of powerful people including an aide to Number 10. He said this was not Peter Morrison who Edwina Curry had mentioned at the weekend as having “inappropriate relationships” with young men. The story was taken up by a number of other newspapers including the International Business Times who reported it was Peter Morrison who had been Margaret Thatcher’s Private Sectary and Simon Heffer wrote that the Member of Parliament had been a constant worry to Members of Parliament because of his cruising around Sussex Gardens late at night. This suggests that the rumour mill is now working overtime and is being churned out as fact.
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