Savile case: 300 alleged victims

Commander Peter Spindler said officers are following more than 400 lines of inquiry linked to the victims, of whom all except two are women.

He said investigators have so far spoken to 130 people who have come forward, and 114 allegations of crime have emerged.

Officers are using a “triage” approach, first making contact with victims by phone to get initial details of their allegations, Mr Spindler said.

He told reporters that most of the allegations are linked to Savile, but some involve others who may have acted with him.

The inquiry will be a “watershed” moment in the investigation of child abuse, he said.

Head of inquiry says now working on arrest strategy and describes it as watershed moment for historic child abuse

— simon israel (@simonisrael) October 25, 2012

‘Arrest strategy’

Nobody has yet been arrested or interviewed under caution as yet, but the force is “preparing an arrest strategy”.

Mr Spindler said: “There’s Savile on his own, and that’s the vast majority of what we’re being told about, there’s Savile and others. And it’s the others, if they’re living, we can look at them.

“Then there is a third category which is ‘others’.”

Officers are trying to contact victims as quickly as possible, but for some it is the first time they have spoken about the allegations, Mr Spindler said.

He told journalists: “We are trying to make contact with as many victims as quickly as we can. We are doing it initially by telephone but some of those telephone contacts are taking up to four hours.

“This may be the first time that some people have actually spoken in any detail, and we don’t underestimate how significant an event it is for them to disclose sexual abuse.”

Mr Spindler said a retired officer had been in touch to say he had investigated Savile in the 1980s while based in west London but he had not had the evidence to proceed.

He said he believed the allegation was of an indecent assault on BBC premises but officers have still not found the original file.

He added that Savile had been protected because “children or young people” had not felt “empowered to speak out”.

Claims against estate

A solicitor acting on behalf of victims of Jimmy Savile has launched claims against the late celebrity’s estate on behalf of clients.

Alan Collins, a partner and specialist in abuse work at law firm Pannone, said: “Much has been written and said about possible actions against the BBC and it is true that claims may be brought against them and other organisations Savile was involved with.

“However, if he was acting as an individual, it is possible to take action against Sir Jimmy Savile’s estate because he was a wealthy man and there will be assets to claim against.

“It is imperative that action is taken promptly in order to advance clients’ claims which arise from their allegations of sexual abuse.”

Mr Collins said Pannone was dealing with allegations of abuse from approximately 20 alleged victims from the UK, Europe and Australia.

The government has rebuffed opposition calls for a full independent inquiry into the Savile abuse claims.

Commons leader Andrew Lansley said investigations by the police and the independent probes commissioned by the BBC and NHS should be allowed to run their course.

Labour said the BBC still had “serious questions to answer” following director-general George Entwistle’s “unsatisfactory” appearance in front of the Culture, Media and Sport select committee.