A review into the culture and practices at the BBC, in light of the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal, has found serious failings at the corporation that allowed the abuse to go unchecked. A culture of fear at the broadcaster meant production staff were unlikely to report their concerns about major talent.
These are the conclusions of former Appeal Court judge Janet Smith who was commissioned to conduct a review by the BBC following the revelations about Savile. She found Savile had abused 72 victims in relation to his BBC work over almost 50 years but agreed senior managers were unaware of the abuse. From London, Catherine Drew reports.
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Rising star and radio dj jimmy savile was chosen to open the first ever episode of the top of the pops in 1964… he remained a popular fixture on BBC television almost until his death in 2011. But after his death, hundreds of people came forward with allegations of abuse. On Thursday, Dame Janet Smith published her review about the abuse and what role the BBC played in it.
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Savile was a danger to young people both girls and boys, opportunistic and shameless. I have identified 72 BBC victims of Savile of whom 34 were under the age of 16. His youngest victim was aged eight. His abuse included eight cases of rape, the youngest victim being only 10 years old."
The inquiry spoke to 117 witnesses from the BBC and more than 700 people for the multi million pound review that runs to 1 thousand pages. Dame Janet said a culture of fear and deep deference meant Savile and fellow presenter Stuart Hall who is currently in jail for historic child sex abuse crimes, remained free to trade on their fame.
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"All the problems of reporting were compounded in the case of the talent. Celebrities were treated with "kid gloves" and were virtually untouchable. One witness told me that the talent were more valuable to the BBC than their own values."
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HOWEVER She went on to say that the hierarchical nature of the BBC led her to believe that even though production staff may have known about the abuse, it didn't mean that BBC management was aware of the rumours about Savile's behavior. She said the report made sorry reading for the BBC
Appearing alongside Dame Janet at the launch of the review….it fell to the BBC's current Director General Tony Hall to respond. He apologized to the victims and said the corporation should have protected them.
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""What happened was profoundly wrong. It should never have started, it should certainly have been stopped. Whatever the circumstances and background to it, and clearly these reports explain this in some considerable detail, sexual abuse is sexual abuse. It can never be excused."
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Lawyers for some of the abuse victims have responded that their clients are likely to feel the review is nothing more than an expensive whitewash.
It comes as the BBC confirmed it has parted with Veteran broadcaster Tony Blackburn saying the evince he gave to the inquiry fell short of the standards required. He has claimed he gave evidence about events 45 years ago to the best of his ability and that that the corporation has hung him out to dry after decades of service. Mr Blackburn said his fate is proof that the so called culture of fear at the broadcaster is still very much in evidence.
Catherine Drew, sign off, London