UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian
Posted by
Roy Greenslade
Wednesday 10 October
With the BBC taking a bashing from the tabloids over the Jimmy Savile affair, Michael White wonders why the “tough tabloids” themselves didn’t nail the man.
It’s a fair question. After all, many people have said Savile’s predilection for young girls was something of an open secret. Former Sunday Express editor Brian Hitchen admitted knowing about it 45 years ago.
He was not alone. There were plenty of rumours. We all thought Savile was weird and probably up to no good. As White writes: “I always thought he was a dodgy bugger.”
But what about evidence as distinct from suspicion? Would any of it have been good enough as a defence should Savile have sued for libel?
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.