Savile: Police Files From 2009 To Be Reviewed

Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer is to review legal papers relating to abuse allegations against Jimmy Savile, David Cameron has said.

The Prime Minister said it was essential that lessons were learned from the scandal of Savile's decades of sexual abuse.

He told MPs at Prime Minister's Questions: "The Director of Public Prosecutions has confirmed that his principal legal adviser will again review the papers from the time when a case was put to the CPS for prosecution.

"The Director of Public Prosecutions specifically is going to consider what more can be done to alert relevant authorities where there are concerns that a prosecution is not taken forward.

"The Government will do everything it can do, other institutions must do what they can do, to make sure that we learn the lesson of this and it can never happen again."

Mr Starmer said the papers in four cases referred to the CPS in 2009 would be reviewed "out of an abundance of caution".

He insisted that the decisions not to prosecute "were the right decisions based on the information and evidence then available".

He also said he planned to discuss with the Attorney General a new policy, where cases would be referred to social services where an allegation is made but not taken to court due to a lack of evidence.

It comes after charities helping victims of sexual abuse said they had been swamped with inquiries – prompted by the widening Savile controversy.

The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) has seen nearly a trebling of calls to its hotline.

Napac Chief Executive Pete Saunders told Sky News: "As we speak it is well over 2,500 calls we have received and is rapidly heading towards 3,000.

"It has been relentless. Normally we deal with up to 300 inquiries weekly but since Savile it is up to 800 a week."

Children's charity the NSPCC said it has received 161 calls relating to Savile, which have been passed to police, and another 105 not related to the performer.

These came from adults who wanted to discuss being abused as children following media coverage of the case, and 24 of those allegations have also been referred to the police, the charity said.

Pressure continues to mount on BBC bosses, past and present, over the halting of an investigation into sexual abuse by Savile.

Sources at current affairs programme Newsnight told The Times that Director of News Helen Boaden allegedly intervened last year, insisting staff gather evidence as if the late star were still alive and able to sue.

It said Ms Boaden's approach subsequently influenced the show's editor Peter Rippon to halt the investigation - he has since "stepped aside" while the corporation undertakes a review into Savile's predatory behaviour over several decades on BBC premises.

The spreading concerns of BBC managerial responsibility have also drawn in the previous BBC boss, Mark Thompson, about how much he knew.

Mr Thompson, who recently resigned as Director-General, said: "I did not impede or stop the Newsnight investigation, nor have I done anything else that could be construed as untoward or unreasonable."

On Tuesday, current Director-General George Entwistle was urged to "get a grip" on his organisation during a hostile grilling by MPs about the broadcaster's handling of the claims.

Mr Entwistle told the committee he had ordered an internal audit of the operation of the BBC's child protection policies and would report its results to the BBC Trust in December.

He said the corporation was now investigating up to 10 "serious allegations" involving past and present employees over the "Savile period".

Scotland Yard said 60 of the 200 people who have come forward since ITV first aired a documentary on the former DJ's sexual abuse have made claims against people other than Savile.

It is understood that the Metropolitan Police have made preparations for the first arrests in its own investigation.