Advertisement

  1. National

Police apologise to Savile victims over 'missed opportunities' to investigate

A formal apology has been issued to the victims of notorious sex offender Jimmy Savile as police admitted they missed a number of chances to investigate him while still alive.

North Yorkshire Police said an investigation into Savile and one of his high-profile friends, former Mayor of Scarborough Peter Jaconelli, had found there would even have been enough evidence to consider prosecuting the pair.

A total of 35 people had come forward to lodge allegations against the two men, with offences ranging from sexual activity with a child to rape.

View all 4 updates ›

Savile victims were 'routinely ignored' by police and others

Lawyers representing 169 of Jimmy Savile's alleged victims have said complaints against the late TV presenter were "routinely ignored" amid his "systematic reign of abuse".

They welcomed an apology from North Yorkshire Police over the force's handling of complaints against the late TV presenter - but urged the government to learn from the past.

The victims will take some comfort from the apology.

Savile's victims were routinely ignored when they reported the abuse and countless opportunities to investigate him were missed, not just by police but also in other organisations he was involved with.

Hopefully, we are learning the lessons of the past and no one will ever get away with the systematic reign of abuse Savile did.

– Jessica Standley, Slater & Gordon
  1. Read more
  2. 4 updates
Police apologise to Savile victims over 'missed opportunities' to investigate

More top news