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Savile 'Abused Dead Bodies At NHS Hospital'

Police are investigating whether Jimmy Savile may have been involved in the death of a young girl, as the true scale of his abuse at hospitals and care homes across the UK has been revealed.

Reports from 28 NHS sites detail claims of rape and sexual assault, as well as allegations of sexual activity with bodies in mortuaries.

A witness at a children's home in Leicestershire reported seeing the TV presenter dragging away a girl only to be told later that she had died.

At Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) investigators found the DJ and TV presenter's crimes stretched over five decades and his victims included men, women, boys and girls.

Sixty people came forward to report abuse at LGI including three victims who were raped - two female hospital visitors and one medical secretary.

There were "incredibly harrowing and disturbing" allegations from a witness that Savile had boasted about sexually abusing bodies in the hospital's mortuary.

Two unrelated witnesses told the inquiry that he wore huge rings made from the glass eyes of deceased patients at the hospital.

LGI lead investigator Dr Sue Proctor told a news conference: "We have no way of verifying the allegations … but his interest in the dead was pretty unwholesome.

"Restrictions on his access to the mortuary were not robust."

Investigators found eight cases of Savile grooming his victims over several months - sometimes assisted by others.

Savile was able to visit the hospital unannounced at any time of day or night and he was allowed to assist in intimate care such as bed baths.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt told MPs that one LGI victim feared she was pregnant after being abused.

Staff were told about some of the incidents, but the allegations were not reported to hospital bosses, the report found.

The Leeds findings are among 28 hospital reports that lay out the scale of the serial sex offender's abuse on NHS premises.

Kate Lampard QC, the lead investigator, said: "Victims deserve an explanation for what happened to them."

She said the reports would provide an "opportunity to learn how to guard against it happening again".

At Broadmoor psychiatric hospital, where there were 11 allegations, Savile was allowed to watch and make inappropriate remarks as female patients stripped to take a bath.

The report found patchy implementation of security procedures by some staff at the hospital - which housed some of Britain's most dangerous killers - allowed him to reach patients areas unsupervised and without the knowledge of managers.

There was an atmosphere at the hospital that tolerated inappropriate behaviour and discouraged reporting, while Savile's "often flamboyantly inappropriate" attitude towards women was seen as part of his public act, the probe found.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt apologised on behalf of the Government and the NHS and said the whole country would have a "deep sense of revulsion" about the findings in the reports.

Mr Hunt said he would be writing to all NHS trusts urging them to ensure they are confident about patient safety.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister said he was "deeply shocked" and that lessons had to be learned following publication of the reports.

Savile died aged 84 in October 2011, a year before a TV documentary aired claims that he had sexually abused children.

Around 600 people provided information to Operation Yewtree - Scotland Yard's formal criminal investigation into alleged crimes by Savile and others - after it was launched in October 2012.

A report by the Metropolitan Police and NSPCC published in January 2013 found Savile was a "prolific, predatory sex offender" who abused children and adults over more than 50 years.

Earlier this month, a further NSPCC report revealed that he had abused at least 500 victims, including some as young as two.