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'Serious failings' at BBC allowed Savile to abuse 72 people

“Serious failings” at the BBC allowed Jimmy Savile to rape and sexually assault 72 people, a damning report has found.

Dame Janet Smith's review found there was a culture of "reverence and fear" towards celebrities at the corporation.

One employee who complained about Savile was told: "Keep your mouth shut, he is a VIP."

After the report's publication, BBC director-general Lord Hall apologised to the victims, saying: "The BBC failed you when it should have protected you."

Follow ITV News for the latest reaction to the report.

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'Disturbingly easy' for Savile to get away with abuse

Credit: PA

Peter Wanless, NSPCC chief executive, said: "This report demonstrates just how disturbingly easy at the time it was for Savile to get away, unchallenged, with despicable acts against children at the BBC. The impact on his victims has been profound - as we have already witnessed from calls to our helpline.

"It is tragic that a culture existed at the BBC in which Savile became too powerful to confront, so allowing him to use his celebrity status to abuse at will, leaving a trail of devastation in his wake.

"The BBC must ensure staff can easily raise concerns and that robust safeguarding procedures are in place to effectively act on these so that a scandal of this kind, never mind this magnitude, is never repeated."

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'Serious failings' at BBC allowed Savile to abuse 72 people

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