The Dame Janet Smith Review Report
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THE DAME JANET SMITH REVIEW REPORT AN INDEPENDENT REVIEW INTO THE BBC’S CULTURE AND PRACTICES DURING THE JIMMY SAVILE AND STUART HALL YEARS FOR PUBLICATION ON 25 FEBRUARY 2016 THIS REPORT CONTAINS EVIDENCE OF SEXUAL ABUSE WHICH SOME READERS MAY FIND DISTRESSING THE DAME JANET SMITH REVIEW REPORT VOLUME 1 Table of Contents CONCLUSIONS – THE QUESTIONS ANSWERED AND THE LESSONS TO BE LEARNED ...................................................................................... 1 Did Savile commit acts of inappropriate sexual conduct in connection with his work for the BBC? ................................................................ 1 Were any concerns raised within the BBC whether formally or informally about Savile’s inappropriate sexual conduct? ................................................................................................... 2 To what extent were BBC personnel aware of inappropriate sexual conduct by Savile in connection with his work for the BBC? .............................................................................................................. 7 To what extent ought BBC personnel to have been aware of inappropriate sexual conduct by Savile in connection with his work for the BBC? ................................................................................. 14 Did the culture and practices within the BBC during the years of Savile’s employment enable Savile’s inappropriate sexual conduct to continue unchecked? ............................................................ 18 The Culture of Not Complaining .................................................................... 18 The Culture of Not Complaining about the Talent ......................................... 19 The Lack of Any Suitable Route for the Making of Complaints ..................................................................................................... 20 The Culture of Separation and the Lack of Cross-dissemination about Concerns ........................................................... 21 The Macho Culture ........................................................................................ 23 Lack of a Coordinated Approach to the Investigation of Complaints or Concerns ................................................................................ 24 Cultural Factors Relating to Underage Victims ................................................... 24 My Recommendations ........................................................................................ 26 A Final Word ....................................................................................................... 33 THE JIMMY SAVILE INVESTIGATION REPORT – SUMMARY ............................ 35 Setting up the Review: The Terms of Reference (Chapter 1) ........................... 35 The BBC – History, Ethos and Management Culture (Chapter 2) .................... 36 Changing Attitudes and Sexual Mores (Chapter 3) ........................................... 39 Savile – His Career and Perceptions of Him at the BBC (Chapter 4) ......................................................................................................... 41 Perceptions of Savile at the BBC (Chapter 4) .............................................. 42 Savile the Presenter (Chapter 4) .................................................................. 44 Savile’s Private Life and Sexual Activities (Chapter 5) ...................................... 45 Summary of Accepted Evidence (Chapter 5) ............................................... 46 Summary of Complaints about Savile (Chapter 5) ....................................... 49 Material in the Public Domain (Chapter 6) ......................................................... 54 Rumours about Savile at the BBC (Chapter 7) .................................................. 55 Press Reports Alleging That the BBC Knew of Savile’s Misconduct but Had Failed to Act (Chapter 8) ................................................... 57 Top of the Pops (Chapter 9) .............................................................................. 58 How the Programme Operated (Chapter 9) .................................................. 58 Awareness of BBC Staff That Young Members of the Audience at Top of the Pops Were at Risk of ‘Moral Danger’ (Chapter 9) ................................................................................................... 61 Conclusions about the BBC’s Response to the Various Wake-up Calls in Respect of Top of the Pops (Chapter 9) .......................... 66 Conclusion about Top of the Pops (Chapter 9) ............................................ 68 Knowledge about Savile in Relation to Top of the Pops (Chapter 9) ................................................................................................... 68 Conclusion about the BBC’s Awareness of Savile’s Misconduct while on Top of the Pops (Chapter 9) ....................................... 70 Awareness of Savile’s Sexual Misconduct within the Jim’ll Fix It Team (Chapter 10) ........................................................................... 70 Awareness of Savile’s Sexual Deviancy at Jim’ll Fix It (Chapter 10) ................................................................................................. 72 Awareness of Roger Ordish (Chapter 10) .................................................... 73 Awareness of More Senior Staff about Problems Relating to Savile and Jim’ll Fix It (Chapter 10) ........................................... 76 Discussion (Chapter 10) ............................................................................... 79 Awareness within BBC Radio 1 and the BBC Radio Religious Broadcasting Department (Chapter 11) ............................................. 81 Investigations Instigated by Douglas Muggeridge, Controller of BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2 (Chapter 11) ......................... 82 What Was Known about Savile in BBC Radio 1 and What Would Have Been Discovered if Enquiries Had Been Made within BBC Radio 1? (Chapter 11) .................................... 86 What Was Known within the Religious Broadcasting Department Radio (Chapter 11) ................................................................... 89 Canon Colin Semper (Chapter 11) ............................................................... 90 Canon David Winter (Chapter 11) ................................................................ 91 Responsibility for Reporting Awareness of Savile’s Character (Chapter 11) ................................................................................ 93 Summary – Chapter 11 ................................................................................. 95 THE STUART HALL INVESTIGATION REPORT – SUMMARY ............................. 99 The BBC Manchester Regional Television Newsroom ...................................... 99 Hall’s Inappropriate Sexual Conduct in Connection with his work for the BBC ............................................................................................................. 102 Awareness of Hall’s Inappropriate Sexual Conduct in the BBC Manchester Television Newsroom .................................................................... 104 Impediments to Taking Action .......................................................................... 109 APPENDICES TO THE JIMMY SAVILE INVESTIGATION REPORT Appendix 1 Dramatis Personae .................................................................... 115 Appendix 2 Chronology ................................................................................. 139 Appendix 3 Table Showing the Relevant Senior Roles in BBC Television during Savile’s Active Period at the BBC .................. 151 Appendix 4 Table Showing the Relevant Senior Roles in BBC Radio during Savile’s Active Period at the BBC ................................... 153 Appendix 5 BBC Management Structure as at the Mid-point in Savile’s Career in Respect of BBC Radio, Television and the World Service ................................................................ 155 Appendix 6 Detailed Information and Charts about Savile’s Victims ............ 157 APPENDICES TO THE STUART HALL INVESTIGATION REPORT Appendix 1 Review Procedures (paragraph 1.16) ....................................... 171 Appendix 2 Press release, 4 June 2013 (paragraph 1.22) .......................... 177 Appendix 3 Informal plans of Broadcasting House, Piccadilly (paragraph 5.2) .......................................................................... 179 Appendix 4 Plans of New Broadcasting House, Oxford Road (1993) (paragraph 5.8) .......................................................................... 185 Appendix 5 Diagram produced by Dr Peter Scott-Morgan (paragraph 10.14) ...................................................................... 187 Appendix 6 Detailed Information and Charts Relating to the Complainant Witnesses ................................................................................... 189 Appendix 7 Dramatis Personae .................................................................... 197 Appendix 8 Timeline ...................................................................................... 205 CONCLUSIONS – THE QUESTIONS ANSWERED AND THE LESSONS TO BE LEARNED 1. In these Conclusions I answer the questions arising from my terms of reference and set out the lessons to be learned from the evidence uncovered by the Review. The questions I will answer are: Did Savile commit acts of inappropriate sexual conduct in connection with his work for the BBC? Were any