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It said senior managers were not made aware of what he was up
to, because of a prevailing culture in which staff were fearful
of making complaints, especially about top stars known
internally as "The Talent".
In 2012, British police said Savile, one of Britain's best-known
celebrities of the 1970s and 1980s, had abused hundreds of
victims, mainly youngsters, over six decades until his death
aged 84 in 2011. The abuse occurred at BBC premises and at
hospitals where Savile was renowned for his charity work.
Thursday's report by former Appeal Court judge Janet Smith,
commissioned by the publicly funded broadcaster in the wake of
those revelations, concluded Savile had abused 72 victims in
relation to his BBC work over almost 50 years. His crimes
included raping a 10-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl.
"These events will forever be a source of deep regret and
shame," said Rona Fairhead, chairman of governing body the BBC
Trust, in a statement accepting all the report's conclusions and
apologizing to the victims.
Fairhead said that although the events happened in the past,
they raised serious issues about BBC culture that remained
relevant. She announced measures to reform that culture.
Smith said while some reports were made by staff about Savile's
conduct, these were never escalated due to a culture of "not
complaining about anything". Employees were reluctant to say
anything to management which might "rock the boat", for fear it
might result in damage to career prospects or even dismissal.
There was an even stronger culture of deference toward the
Talent. "The evidence I heard suggested that the Talent was
treated with kid gloves and rarely challenged," Smith said.
She found that while junior and middle-ranking individuals knew
about Savile's behavior, there was no evidence that the BBC, as
a corporate body, was aware.
"This report makes sorry reading for the BBC," Smith said in the
conclusion of her 372,400-word report, which took two-and-a-half
years to complete.
"The BBC needs to demonstrate to the public that it has taken
the current criticisms seriously and has made, or is making,
such changes as are necessary and appropriate to ensure that
these terrible events cannot occur again."
Savile, a one-time wrestler with long blonde hair, a love of
cigars and a penchant for garish outfits and jewelry, started
out as a pioneering DJ in the 1960s and went on to host some of
the BBC's biggest prime time TV shows.
The revelations about him plunged the BBC into crisis and
prompted allegations of a cover-up.
The ensuing furor cost then Director General George Entwistle
his job just 54 days after he had taken over the corporation,
which is funded by an annual license fee and respected around
much of the world for its news and dramas.
The case prompted police to investigate other old allegations
involving aging celebrities, leading to a number of high-profile
convictions, including of BBC personalities Rolf Harris and
Stuart Hall.
The British government has also launched a massive public
inquiry, due to last five years, into historical child abuse
examining whether politicians and powerful figures ignored it or
covered it up.
(Editing by Estelle Shirbon and Mark Trevelyan)
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