- 2 minutes ago
- From the section UK
A report into cases of sexual abuse by Jimmy Savile linked to the BBC is set to criticise the corporation's culture, according to a leaked draft.
News website Exaro said Dame Janet Smith's draft report says the BBC had a "deferential culture", "untouchable stars" and "above the law" managers. But Dame Janet does not believe the BBC can be criticised for not uncovering his "sexual deviancy", Exaro said.
The review said it was "disappointed" Exaro had published the "early draft".
A statement added: "That document is out of date and significant changes have been made to its contents and conclusions.
"The document should not have been made public and cannot be relied upon in any circumstances.
The review will work with the BBC to arrange publication of its final report as quickly as possible to ensure that accurate and responsible reporting can take place."
The BBC says it has not seen the report.
Image copyright PA The leaked report, which Exaro said was completed more than a year ago, should come with "a lot of health warnings", the BBC's media and arts correspondent David Sillito said.
But he said many of the quotes in Exaro's article "match exactly" with what he had been told during his own investigations.
According to Exaro the leaked draft
- reveals 61 incidents of sexual assault - including four rapes and one attempted rape
- says incidents took place in virtually every one of the BBC premises Savile worked in
- says girls at Top of the Pops in the early 1970s were exposed to moral danger
- investigations in to allegations of sexual assault were "wholly inadequate"
- criticises the BBC for failing to examine Savile's personality critically given rumours about him and that he worked with children
Victims, most of whom were vulnerable young females, were assaulted and raped in television dressing rooms, hospitals, schools, children's homes and his caravan.
The abuse is thought to have begun in the mid-1940s, when he was in his late teens or early 20s, and lasted until 2009, two years before his death.
Children's charity the NSPCC said Savile was the one of most prolific sex offenders in its history.
The revelations prompted the Metropolitan Police to launch Operation Yewtree, set up to investigate historical sex offences.
Dame Janet's investigation has interviewed 375 witnesses in connection with Savile.
Earlier on Wednesday the review's website said it planned to publish the final report within six weeks, after being told by police that they were no longer concerned about the report prejudicing ongoing investigations.
In February last year a separate report concluded Savile abused at least 63 people connected to Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire.
In April, Surrey Police said 22 pupils and one visitor had been sexually abused by him at a school for emotionally disturbed teenage girls.
A BBC spokesman said: "The BBC hasn't seen Dame Janet's report or any draft copy, so we're unable to comment."
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