Savile police probing 120 leads

Police have revealed they are looking at 120 lines of inquiry and possibly as many as 25 victims relating to the Jimmy Savile sex abuse claims.

Scotland Yard has formally recorded eight criminal allegations against the star, including two of rape and six of indecent assault.

Commander Peter Spindler, head of Specialist Crime Investigations, said the allegations span four decades and information so far suggests abuse was on a "national scale". He said there are currently 120 lines of inquiry, although some could be duplicates.

Spindler said police were working with broadcasters BBC and ITV to investigate Savile, who was one of Britain's best-known TV personalities.

Savile, who died last year aged 84, hosted Top of the Pops and children's program Jim'll Fix It and was well known as a charity fundraiser.

Since his death several women have come forward to say he sexually assaulted them.

Meanwhile, David Cameron has raised the prospect that Savile could be posthumously stripped of his knighthood amid allegations of sexual abuse against young girls. But the move would require a change in the law as technically, when the former DJ died last year, the honour ceased to exist.

Mr Cameron told ITV's Daybreak: "We have something called a Forfeiture Committee. It is not chaired or sat on by me but it is responsible for looking at honours and the removal of honours, and obviously they have to do their job too."

But the Cabinet Office said Savile no longer had a knighthood to revoke, as individuals cease to be a member of the order when they die.

A campaign by The Sun newspaper is calling for a change in the law so that honours can be revoked posthumously by the Forfeiture Committee.