Police admit they were told Jimmy Savile was a paedophile a DECADE before he was exposed

A police force has admitted they were told Jimmy Savile was a paedophile nearly a decade before his horrific crimes came to light, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Surrey Police have disclosed that a journalist called them in 2003 with information that an unnamed victim had been abused by Savile as a child in London – but the force did nothing with the information.

The call only emerged after an examination of police phone records in November last year, long after Savile was unmasked as the UK's most notorious paedophile.

Surrey have now asked an external force to investigate whether there were any other missed opportunities which may have resulted from earlier investigations.

The 2003 call came in the middle of Operation Arundel, an investigation which led to former pop mogul Jonathan King and DJ Chris Denning being convicted of child abuse.

Records show that police operators asked the journalist to encourage the victim to contact them or the Metropolitan Police.

But Surrey said no crime record was created as 'no direct allegation was ever received' and Savile was not a suspect in the Arundel inquiry.

The new revelation is hugely embarrassing for the force, who previously admitted they identified Savile as a potential abuser in 2007, but botched the subsequent investigation.  (more...)

Police admit they were told Jimmy Savile was a paedophile a DECADE before he was exposed

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