How BBC bosses let Jimmy Savile sexually abuse up to 1,000 children

BBC staff turned a blind eye to the sexual abuse by star presenter Jimmy Savile of up to 1,000 girls and boys in the corporation's changing rooms and studios, according an internal inquiry leaked yesterday.

The investigation by former judge Janet Smith found Savile's behaviour was recognised by executives at the world's biggest public broadcaster, but they took no action to stop him, said The Observer newspaper.

A police probe concluded last year that the television and radio presenter, who died in 2011 aged 84, was a predatory sex offender who abused children as young as eight over more than 50 years.

It identified 450 victims, but the Smith inquiry suggests up to 1,000 people were abused by Savile while he was working for the BBC, The Observer said.

Peter Saunders, chief executive of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, which has been consulted by Smith's inquiry, said many people at the BBC admitted knowing about Savile's behaviour.

"The other thing I have found extraordinary, and very sad, is the number of people I have spoken to connected to the BBC - and that is a lot of people - who said, 'Oh yes, we all knew about him'," Saunders told the newspaper.