Police confirm Jimmy Savile sexual abuse interview
Sir Jimmy Savile was interviewed by police five years ago over an allegation of indecent assault at a children's home during the 1970s. Surrey Police confirmed officers questioned the Jim'll Fix It star under caution in 2007 in relation to the claims, but said senior prosecutors decided there was insufficient evidence to charge him. The force revealed details of its investigation after a number of alleged victims accused the late radio and television presenter of sexually abusing them. In a TV documentary due to be screened tomorrow, Sir Jimmy is said to have preyed on girls in his Rolls-Royce and at the BBC Television Centre in a series of alleged incidents dating back over four decades. Speaking on Exposure: The Other Side Of Jimmy Savile, one woman tells how she met the star at a school in Surrey in 1974 when she was 14 before he assaulted her in his caravan which was parked in the school grounds. A number of other sexual abuse allegations involving the former Top Of The Pops host and under-aged girls have also surfaced in newspaper reports, with many women claiming to be speaking out over their alleged ordeals for the first time. In a statement released on Monday, Surrey Police said: "In 2007 Surrey Police received an historic allegation of indecent assault which is alleged to have occurred at a children's home in Staines during the 1970s. "The allegation was investigated and an individual was interviewed under caution. The matter was referred to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision who advised there was insufficient evidence to take any further action." Friends and relations of the flamboyant bachelor have expressed their upset that the allegations are being made when Sir Jimmy, who died last year at the age of 84, is no longer around to defend himself. A spokesman for ITV defended its programme, saying it was the result of an 'in-depth investigation into long-standing allegations of serious and widespread sexual misconduct' by Sir Jimmy.
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Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.
An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.