A total of 31 allegations of rape have been made to date against Jimmy Savile, the late English disc jockey, BBC television personality and charity fundraiser.
Some 589 people have come forward with information relating to the scandal, with 450 complaints, mainly alleging sexual abuse, the London Metropolitan police said yesterday, 10 weeks since the launch of Operation Yewtree. They have recorded 199 crimes in 17 force areas in which Savile is a suspect.So far detectives have detained seven suspects and helped in the arrest of three others elsewhere in the country, Scotland Yard said, adding: “More arrests nationally will be forthcoming.”
Former pop star Gary Glitter and a man in his 70s, reported to be former television producer Wilfred De’Ath – among those arrested as part of Operation Yewtree – were rebailed by police yesterday.
Glitter (68) was the first person to be detained, on October 28th. He was questioned by officers and released on bail. A man reported to be De’Ath, a former BBC employee who once produced a radio show presented by Savile, was arrested at his home in Cambridgeshire on November 11th and also bailed to return to police.
Earlier yesterday, a Scotland Yard spokesman said: “Two men arrested in connection with Operation Yewtree – a man in his 60s and a man in his 70s – have been rebailed to return on dates in February 2013.”
Other high-profile names to have been questioned include publicist Max Clifford, comedian Freddie Starr and DJ Dave Lee Travis.
NSPCC helpline director Peter Watt said: “Operation Yewtree has exposed shocking child abuse allegations of such an unprecedented scale it has left a deep scar on the consciousness of the country.”