LONDON – A sexual abuse scandal shaking the BBC broadened Tuesday, with the broadcaster's chief saying the corporation was investigating claims of abuse and harassment against as many as 10 former and current staff.
The BBC has been rocked by allegations that longtime children's host Jimmy Savile, who died last year, abused underage teens over several decades, sometimes on BBC premises. Some of the alleged victims have accused other entertainers and BBC staff of participating in abuse during the 1960s, 70s and 80s.
Director-general George Entwistle told British lawmakers Tuesday that the BBC is looking into historical allegations of sexual abuse or harassment against "between eight and 10" past and present employees.
Separately, the BBC press office said it was aware of "nine allegations of sexual harassment, assault or inappropriate conduct" involving current staff or contributors to the BBC, which employs some 20,000 people.
Entwistle said it was too early to say whether sexual abuse had been endemic within Britain's publicly funded national broadcaster, but insisted the BBC would assist police if detectives chose to investigate whether there had been a pedophile ring at the corporation.
Entwistle acknowledged there had been "a problem of culture within the BBC ... a broader cultural problem" that allowed Savile's behavior to go unchecked.
"There is no question that what Jimmy Savile did and the way the BBC behaved ... will raise questions of trust for us and reputation for us," Entwistle said. "This is a gravely serious matter, and one cannot look back at it with anything other than horror."
Entwistle's testimony before the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport committee came a day after the BBC aired a powerful documentary about the corporation's role in the expanding sex abuse scandal involving Savile, who died a year ago at age 84.
Since Savile's death, scores of women and several men have come forward to say the entertainer — a longtime host of music and children's programs including "Top of the Pops" and "Jim'll Fix It" — abused them when they were children or teenagers. Police have identified more than 200 potential victims.
The BBC, one of the world's largest and most respected broadcasters, is under fire for failing to stop the abuse and for pulling an expose on Savile from TV schedules at the last minute in December. The sex allegations were later aired on the rival ITV network.
The head of the BBC's "Newsnight" program, Peter Rippon, has been suspended pending an investigation of his decision to scrap the Savile story.
Monday's documentary, which was watched by more than 5 million people, presented the unusual spectacle of BBC journalists grilling their own bosses about why the piece had been dropped.
In an attempt to get to the bottom of the story, the parliamentary committee spent two hours Tuesday questioning Entwistle, who has been in the BBC's top job for just a month, after years in senior news and current affairs roles.
It may also want to question his predecessor, Mark Thompson, who led the organization at the time the "Newsnight" report was yanked. Thompson was appointed chief executive of the New York Times Co. in August and is due to take up the post next month.
He told ITV News that if "the police inquiry or the select committee want to hear from me, of course I'll help in any way I can."
Few public figures have had as spectacular a fall from grace as the cigar-chomping, platinum-haired Savile, who was knighted for his charity fundraising and praised on his death as a popular if eccentric entertainer.
Since the ITV report aired earlier this month, his family has removed and destroyed his gravestone, and two charities named after him have announced they will close.
It is not just the BBC that is under fire. Schools and hospitals associated with Savile's charity work stand accused of letting him abuse young people during visits. And state prosecutors have acknowledged they investigated four abuse allegations against him in 2009, but did not press charges.
Child welfare experts say there is a sadly familiar pattern — seen also in the case of child-molesting Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky or pedophile priests in the Roman Catholic church — of large organizations failing to act on claims of abuse from young people.
One of the revelations of Monday's documentary was that Rippon had sent an email expressing doubts about the Savile documentary because "our sources so far are just the women" — Savile's accusers.
Entwistle insisted the BBC was not complacent about sexism, and had hired a senior lawyer to look at how it handles sexual harassment cases.
"I do believe the culture has changed since the '70s and '80s," Entwistle said. "But I'm not convinced it has changed as much as it should have."
He said Savile had been "a very skillful and successful sexual predator who covered his tracks."
"These things are institutionally, it seems, very difficult to deal with," he said.
_________________ "Last night I had two women, just like a ham sandwich. I was the ham, they were the bread. You dig what I'm putting down?"
Rolf Harris Questioned in Connection to Savile Case
Another BBC star has allegedly been interviewed under caution by police.
Twitter is buzzing with news that 82 year old BBC children’s TV presenter, Rolf Harris, is the latest to be interviewed by police in an ongoing investigation into a high level pedophile network at the very top of the British establishment.
According to Mark Williams Thomas, a driving force behind an investigation into allegations that TV icon Jimmy Savile had sexually abused vulnerable teenage girls, is now reporting that Rolf Harris has been interviewed under caution at police station as part of the ‘Savile other’ case.
Breaking : Rolf Harris currently being interviewed under caution at police station as part of #Savile other #sexual offences
— Mark Williams-Thomas (@mwilliamsthomas) November 29, 2012
If the tweet by Mr Thomas is accurate, it is unclear why Harris has been questioned, however Sky News have reported that it is on suspicion of sexual offences after officers searched an address in Berkshire on Saturday.
It is possible that Harris was interviewed as a witness to a criminal act, to help police with their enquiry – he was released without charge.
So far, four people have been arrested so far in relation to alleged sexual offences by Savile and others.
Singer Gary Glitter, comedian Freddie Starr, DJ Dave Lee Travis and another unidentified man in his 70s have been bailed as part of the inquiry.
The news, if true, that Rolf Harris has been questioned by police, has sent shockwaves through social media networks.
Harris is a well respected and much loved celebrity with strong ties to the British Monarchy. He was commissioned to paint a portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II for her 80th birthday, which was unveiled on 19 December 2005.
During the Diamond Jubilee Concert this year, Rolf Harris described Queen as a ‘living testimony to the power of kindness, dedication, tolerance and loyalty’ and stated “I had the privilege of meeting Her Majesty several times.”
Harris received a CBE from the Princess Royal in 2006, and was also appointed an MBE in 1968 and an OBE in 1977.
UPDATE: A report by The BBC does not name Harris, but states:
A man in his 80s has been released after being interviewed by detectives investigating allegations which arose following revelations about TV presenter Jimmy Savile.
The man, from Berkshire, attended a London police station by appointment and was interviewed under caution.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Operation Yewtree searched an address in Berkshire on Saturday.
The police said it was part of the inquiry not directly related to Savile.
The man arrived at 12:00 GMT, said the Met, and has now “left police premises”. He has not been charged.
JIMMY Savile sexually assaulted children as young as 10 during nearly four decades of activity as a paedophile that took place in a string of institutions, including numerous hospitals, prisons and the BBC, the official inquiry by London’s Metropolitan Polic and Britain’s National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children will say today.
The 30-page report, Giving Victims a Voice, will describe how the celebrity abused up to 500 children and young people, and may have raped more than 30.
We want this to mark a cultural shift so that if a child speaks out against someone, we take what they are saying seriously.
Of the allegations made so far, police have gathered sufficient evidence to record 200 sexually-related crimes by Savile across the country, committed using the power of his personality and fame to dupe a huge number of institutions – including, it is understood, at least one hospice – into giving him access to vulnerable people.
The number of institutions identified in the inquiry raises the spectre of a systemic failure that spread into every corner of British society.
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Detectives and child protection experts working on the inquiry into Savile hope the report will mark a line in the sand – a cultural shift in attitudes between today and 30 years ago, when a blind eye was turned to such activity with children and young people and victims were not listened to.
Trevor Sterling, a lawyer who represents 45 of Savile’s victims, said: ‘‘They really want this report to be a cultural shift. But it still remains to be seen.
‘‘The victims have had a very difficult time because all of this has been so public, and that has to some extent compounded their sense of distress. But the inquiry has been handled sensitively by the police and [the victims] feel this report marks an enormous release because they have been able to tell their stories and to be believed.’’
The report – which will be presented by the senior investigating officer, Detective Superintendent David Gray – will acknowledge that the police and other agencies, including the National Health Service, have failed victims over decades.
It will identify how at least seven victims came forward to police while Savile was alive to complain that they had been sexually assaulted, but their claims were not linked and did not lead to him being prosecuted.
Those who complained included a girl who came forward to the Metropolitan Police to report that she had been assaulted by Savile in his caravan in the grounds of BBC Television Centre in London in the 1970s.
The police received at least two complaints of sexual assault, Surrey police investigated four allegations and police in Jersey were alerted by a boy at the Haut de la Garenne children’s home that Savile had assaulted him. None of these complaints were acted upon. But other institutions, including the Department of Health, are also understood to have been identified as having potentially failed victims.
A string of hospitals have been identified, in addition to the ones already highlighted – Stoke Mandeville, Broadmoor and the Leeds General Infirmary – as providing an environment for Savile to meet young victims.
Prison facilities and a hospice for children have also been named as premises where Savile abused young people. Peter Saunders, founder of the National Association for People Abused as Children, said: ‘‘The silver lining in all of this is that abusers might think twice about abusing children because the cat is out of the bag, and we have got to be optimistic that this does mark a significant change in attitudes.’’
John Cameron, head of child protection for the NSPCC, which conducted the Savile inquiry with the police, said: ‘‘It is very clear that Savile assaulted very young children and that he was a prolific paedophile, there is no doubt about that.
‘‘We want this to mark a cultural shift so that if a child speaks out against someone, we take what they are saying seriously and we act upon it always in future. We have [moved] some way towards this but we need to move further.
‘‘We have to instil a culture within society, within families and within communities so that children know that if they are victims of abuse, it is OK to speak out because people will listen.’’
Many victims are now suing Savile’s estate, estimated to be worth more than £4 million ($A6 million), for damages for the abuse they suffered at the presenter’s hands.
Fourteen separate inquiries are continuing into how he was able to commit his crimes undetected for so long. These include an inquiry by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary into investigative failures by police forces.
Joined: 31 May 2009 Posts: 13730 Location: Parts Unknown $BG Cash: 461764
Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2013 2:40 am Post subject:
I find the reports he was harming children of both genders kind of surprising. I was always under the impression that they always went after one specific gender due to various psychosexual fixations.
Quote:
The report – which will be presented by the senior investigating officer, Detective Superintendent David Gray – will acknowledge that the police and other agencies, including the National Health Service, have failed victims over decades.
"On behalf of the United Kingdom, I'd like to apologize for our police force allowing Mr. Saville to turn the BBC into such a Babylon." _________________ "Last night I had two women, just like a ham sandwich. I was the ham, they were the bread. You dig what I'm putting down?"
Rolf Harris Arrested Over Sexual Offence Allegations in Operation Yewtree
Quote:
In developing allegations, Rolf Harris has been arrested by Scotland Yard detectives in London on suspicion of sexual offences.
He was detained by investigators involved in Operation Yewtree – which is investigating the Jimmy Savile child sex abuse scandal.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said he was bailed to a date in May, pending further inquiries.
It is believed the arrest of the 82-year-old is not unswervingly related to Savile’s acts but other suspected sexual offences that had come to light during the overall investigation.
UPDATE: 29 Mar 2013 9:02AM LOCAL TIME – 8:03PM AUSTRALIAN TIME
Whilst we cannot exactly verify the claims, about 20 people have emailed us claiming that Rolf Harris, who was previously investigated in relation to the allegations in November 2012, has been linked to Jimmy Savile’s past as a ‘supporting acquaintance’, meaning that if Rolf Harris DID NOT personally commit any sexual offences then he may have been reprimanded for knowing of Savile’s actions and failing to notify proper authorities. For example, he didn’t want to get Jimmy Savile into trouble or was in disbelief himself. Again, we aren’t claiming this as fact right now.
The mainstream media has been very quiet on the subject – especially in Australia due to the regulations of speculation and allegations. It’s also worth mentioning that Australian papers often favour Rolf Harris as an icon and so they don’t wish to drag his name into this case (they are more than happy to condemn the multiple British celebrities who have been involved however.
THE Australian entertainer arrested on suspicion of alleged sexual offences has been named in the British press as Rolf Harris.
The 83-year-old legendary star has been under investigation by Scotland Yard since last November after a woman came forward and made historical sex abuse claims against him.
Harris, who has not been charged, reportedly strenuouosly denied the allegations but has declined to comment publicly. His management would also not return calls.
He was arrested last month and interviewed at length by police before later being bailed to appear before investigating officers again sometime in May, pending further inquiries.
Until yesterday, no mainstream press would name the star but that changed after British tabloid The Sun went to print.
Two weeks ago his wife, Welsh sculptress Alwen Hughes, and his brother/manager Bruce Harris also declined to comment.
Just days after Harris was last November appointed Officer of the Order of Australia - from the Queen's Birthday Honours list for services to performing and visual arts and to charities and to international relations through promotion of the Aussie culture police raided his home in the picturesque village of Bray in Berkshire about an hours drive west of London.
Five days later he attended the South London police station to be interviewed "under caution".
It was at this point he was told of the allegations against him and friends described him as being "shattered" at the news.
It was then not until March that he was again asked to appear at a police station where he was formally arrested and bailed, although no charges were laid.
That came just two days before his 83rd birthday. Outside his riverfront home on that day, a number of friends and wellwishers stopped by for a small gathering.
"He hasn't done anything wrong," one man said as he entered for a party.
It was not clear the Perth-born entertainer was home that day, with reports he had been living in a flat in London in recent weeks.
The claims against him surfaced during the police probe, dubbed Operation Yewtree, into British entertainer Jimmy Savile, who has since been described as one of the worst serial child abusers in British history with at least 400 known victims.
The claims against Harris were not linked to the Savile case, which was split into three categories of those involving Savile, those linked to Savile and "others" to which he fell into the latter category.
Unlike the cases of he 10 other men so far arrested by Yewtree detectives, including former pop star Gary Glitter and comedian Freddie Starr, police would not confirm the identity of Mr Harris nor the allegations against him.
Mr Harris, who painted a portrait of the Queen in 2005, is a bigger star in his adopted Britain than in Australia, his TV show, Rolf's Animal Clinic, still attracting more than a million viewers each week. A recent concert he performed since being made a suspect was a sell out.
Harris, a father of one, has been entertaining in song and painting for six decades since he arrived in London and wrote Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport, which became a hit in both the UK and Australia and attracted fans including Margaret Thatcher, who as prime minister cited the artist and his hit Two Little Boys as her favourite.
In 2006, Harris was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, in addition to previous honours including being appointed an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in 1968, an OBE in 1977 and became a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1989. This, all in addition to honorary doctorates and other industry awards.
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