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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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Savile producer 'sorry' he didn't report paedophile

A report found the BBC allowed Savile to abuse 72 people. Credit: PA

A TV producer who worked with Jimmy Savile has said he is sorry he did not report the paedophile.

Canon Colin Semper, who helped produce Speakeasy, a teenage radio show on the BBC in the 1960s and 1970s, said he should have taken "greater care".

He told Sky News: "I didn't tell anybody of, what you might call, authority.

"I'm very, very sorry that I was so obsessed with my programme and with getting it - as best I could - on to the air waves. I should have had greater care.

"I am sorry if I had any responsibility for what has happened over the subsequent time."

A report into Savile by Dame Janet Smith found the canon "ought to have discussed his concerns with a manager".

It added: "I accept that Canon Semper did not 'know' that Savile had sex with underage girls in the sense of ever seeing it happen.

"But he clearly did 'think' that Savile had casual sex with a lot of girls, some of whom might have been underage."

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

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