Jimmy Savile - Sun Hypocrisy

After Janet Smith’s report into the behaviour of Jimmy Savile and Stuart Hall was made public yesterday, despite the BBC giving the findings extensive publicity and Director General Tony Hall giving a full and fulsome apology, it was only a matter of time before that part of the press that hates the Corporation with a passion would use the exercise as a stick to beat it with. So they have, and none moreso than the Sun.

The Sun shows its disapproval of Jimmy Savile

The Murdoch faithful have gone in with both feet, from the screaming headline, “Revealed: Jimmy Savile dressed as Womble to rape boy of 10 … Depravity at BBC exposed in report”, to sub-headings like “Whitewash on bosses” and “Report ‘watered down’”. Added to this is the judgmental “Sun stories ignored”, letting readers know that the paper had Savile bang to rights in 1983, and is therefore totally blameless.

But while the Sun ran an article in 1983 where Savile boasted of picking up young women while running marathons, they did not make any claim of inappropriate behaviour with under-age girls - or boys. Nor was there anything about what he got up to on the BBC’s premises, on shows like Top Of The Pops and Jim’ll Fix It. I’ll go further: the Sun used Savile’s celebrity status to help flog more copies.

That is why the paper arranged for two of its Page 3 Girls to be photographed with Savile, an image which is widely available. It’s also why the Sun’s earlier claims were quietly shelved when he died: instead, there was a long and suitably reverential tribute under the headline “RIP JIMMY SAVILE”. Savile was described as a “telly legend”. He was “The cigar-waving star, best known for his show Jim’ll Fix It”.

Readers were told “Sir Jimmy was famed for his eccentric jewellery, charismatic presenting style and flamboyant clothes - mainly brightly coloured shell suits and tinted glasses … He was on Top of the Pops from its start in 1964 and presented the final show in 2006. He also claimed to have invented DJing”. He was “Madcap fundraiser Sir Jimmy, whose catchphrases included ‘Now then, now then’ and ‘How’s about that then?’”

The gushing eulogy went on “He raised more than £40million during his lifetime for various charities, including Leeds Hospitals … He took part in 217 marathons, 300 professional bike races and 107 professional wrestling matches … His Saturday night show Jim’ll Fix It granted wishes for thousands of children from 1975 until 1993 … Sir Jimmy’s charity continues to sponsor medical students at the University of Leeds to perform undergraduate research”. Not a dickybird about his less savoury side.

As to his singular status, all that the tribute said was “In an interview with The Sun earlier this year, the confirmed bachelor said of relationships: ‘I tried it but the longest I lasted was 11½ minutes, but I really tried. I'd made my mind up after nine’”. Expose Savile? They grovelled at his feet. He was good for business.

The Sun was as much a part of the Savile cover-up as the BBC. Pass the sick bucket.