Jimmy Savile abuse investigation is not a witch-hunt, says Met chief Hogan-Howe

 
Diverse London: Met Chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe addressed and audience at the Press Club Awards today
13 August 2013
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Britain's top police officer today dismissed claims that the investigation prompted by the Jimmy Savile abuse scandal has turned into a witch-hunt.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe made defended the probe after former newspaper tycoon Eddy Shah, recently cleared of raping a schoolgirl in the Nineties, told BBC Radio 5 Live at the weekend that the inquiry was mostly “based on emotion”.

Sir Bernard said accusations made to Operation Yewtree could not be ignored. He said: “I don’t think it’s a witch-hunt at all, we’re just going where the evidence takes us and victims are making allegations.

“The alternative is to ignore them, and if you look at Yewtree the broad allegation is that they have been ignored for 20, 30 years.

“These things are hard to investigate. Obviously it’s a serious issue for the suspect who’s under investigation after that time, but we don’t take these things on lightly, and we do try to keep it confidential.

“If you look at all the debate there’s been about Jimmy Savile, for example, this man for 30 years appears to have attacked many victims and no one listened. Is it wrong to pursue it now?”

Yesterday an 80-year-old man became the 14th person to be arrested under Operation Yewtree, launched in the wake of abuse claims against the late TV presenter Savile.

The first arrest in the inquiry was former pop star Gary Glitter, who was held in October last year and recently bailed again until November.

Another eight men remain on police bail, including comedians Jim Davidson and Freddie Starr and TV presenter Rolf Harris.

Asked whether Operation Yewtree was turning into a witch hunt, Mr Shah, 69, said: “It’s developing into that — it’s easy policing and it’s easy prosecutions. It’s based on emotion, most of it. It’s going back to the witch-hunt theory.

“In a civilised society there’s got to be more checks and balances before these sort of accusations are used.”

His comments came after a row sparked when prosecuting barrister Robert Colover described a 13-year-old sex abuse victim as “predatory”.

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