Jimmy Savile

We are having one of our periodic moral panics in the UK. The occasion is serious allegations of paedophile sexual abuse by Jimmy Savile, and possibly other celebrities, over a very long time and without any effective action to prevent such abuse.

For those of you who do not know who Jimmy Savile was: he started out as a Disc Jockey many many years ago: he was the first presenter of Top of the Pops. Later he became famous as the presenter of a children's programme callled Jim'll Fix it, in which children wrote in stating something they dreamed of doing and the programme arranged for this to come true for them. All very heart warming.

Jimmy Savile did an enormous amount of charity fund raising: he ran marathons, famously: he volunteered as a hospital porter. He was heavily involved with a spinal injuries unit at Stoke Mandeville. He did a great deal of work at a high security mental hospital called broadmoor: and indeed was appointed to lead a team which devised reforms for that hospital. It is reported that he raised £millions for his charities and there is absolutely no reason to doubt that he did. In short, he was a national treasure. Statues were put up to him; charities and streets named after him; plaques put up on public buildings; honours awarded.

He died last year and he had a great big funeral and there were programmes honouring him and his life work

And then it was alleged that he was a paedophile. In a big way. It is reported that he abused children inside the studios of the BBC and that others were also involved in this. It is reported that he had access to all areas of Broadmoor, and indeed a room there to stay in; and abused vulnerable people there. Jimmy Savile is dead and therefore there is no fear of libel or slander suits: so what is reported is largely unrestricted. His main employer was the BBC and to some extent this is being used as part of the sustained attack on that institution led by the Murdochs very largely and also of long standing.

Savile's name has been removed from everywhere it was previously displayed: his grave has been dismantled and today there has been a call for his body to be exhumed and cremated, though this was rejected. Charities bearing his name have been closed because that name is "tainted"

Let me say at the outset that I believe these allegations. I do not think there is any doubt that he was indeed a paedophile who was able to abuse a very large number of people over a period of 40 years or more: I believe that he was probably "predatory" and that he acted along with others of a similar orientation. And I do not condone any of that.

But there is this: Jimmy Savile was treated like a saint during his life: and now he is treated like a devil. He was neither. "The evil that men do lives after them: the good is oft interred with their bones" Nowhere is that seen more clearly than here. It is infantile. More importantly, it does nothing to address the problem of paedophilia, and it is part of a wider witch hunt which has been to the fore for a long time now. That witch hunt is positively damaging if what we are seeking to achieve is prevention of harm and the safety of children. It seems we would rather indulge our self righteous anger than think. Who benefits from that?