Jimmy Savile: tinsel ahead of safeguarding children

Sir James Savile OBE, ex Bevin Boy, ex wrestler, ex DJ, ex TV icon – and, according to a torrent of reports, ex paedophile - has sparked another of our too frequent headline-grabbing sexual abuse scandals. The principal of guilty until proved innocent is endemic in our media but the sheer number of identified victims, over such a sustained period, may give us a healthy degree of suspicion that there really is something in this.

The pursuit of sexual experiences requires desire combined with opportunity. In the case of paedophilia it includes one more sinister dimension: the use of power. Savile obtained his power from the media and his position as a much-loved philanthropist, iconic eccentric and magician who conjured fixes for children in public and desecrated them in private. Idols fall further than mortals and when they prove to be wicked they betray our fantasies of their power to bestow gifts, raise millions and selflessly volunteer for hospital shifts.