Hospitals' shock at Savile claims

Two hospitals described their shock at fresh allegations against TV presenter Sir Jimmy Savile which suggested he preyed on children during visits to wards as part of his catalogue of abuse.

Claims have emerged that Savile groped young patients at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire, where he worked as a volunteer fundraiser, while one woman has claimed she saw him molest a brain-damaged hospital patient at Leeds General Hospital.

Nurses at Stoke Mandeville are understood to have dreaded Savile's visits because of his behaviour, and would tell children to stay in bed and pretend to be asleep when he came round.

Former patient Rebecca Owen told BBC News she overheard nurses talking in a way that suggested he also targeted them.

"It was an air of resignation that you had to put up with," she said. "There was some sort of ironic chatter between the nurses about who would be the lucky one to go off to his room."

A spokesman for Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs Stoke Mandeville, said: "We are shocked to hear of the serious allegations about Jimmy Savile. At this stage in the proceedings it would not be appropriate for us to conduct our own internal investigation, however we have been contacted by the police this week and are supporting them fully with their inquiries. If their findings suggest that we do need to take further action then we will do so."

A spokesman for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We are shocked at the nature and extent of the very serious allegations made against Jimmy Savile which were revealed by the Metropolitan Police on Wednesday. We have made contact with the police and they will be meeting with us to discuss their investigation."

The hospitals urged anyone with any concerns to contact police.

The raft of allegations against Savile have been branded a "cesspit" by BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten, who pledged its own independent inquiry will be launched as swiftly as possible after the police investigation.

He has insisted the decision not to continue with a BBC Newsnight investigation into the former Top of the Pops presenter was not because the programme's editor was "leaned on".and suggested director-general George Entwistle could make a prominent apology - possibly on prime-time TV - on behalf of the BBC once the claims have been unravelled.