View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

ITV man says Savile case proves naming alleged sex offenders in press has ‘real value’

By Dominic Ponsford

The journalist who exposed the Jimmy Savile child abuse scandal has revealed: "We didn't do anything the police could not have done themselves."

Mark Williams-Thomas was behind the ITV documentary "The Other Side of Jimmy Savile" which was aired in October and revealed allegations against Savile which have led to some 450 possible victims of the former DJ coming forward.
Speaking to the Sunday Times he revealed how he asked BBC staff if they would mind him picking up a Newsnight investigation into the story which the BBC decided not to air in November 2011. They told him they would not.
The former policeman, 42, has been a journalist for the last 10 years. He revealed that in the weeks after the broadcast of his ITV documentary he received "serious threats". He told the paper: "I have to take precautions because there are some people out there who are not happy".
Savile was interviewed by police in 2009 over four alleged indecent assaults at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. Williams-Thomas believes that if Savile had been named publicly then, other victims would have come forward and he could have faced justice while he was alive.
He added: "So there is a real value in naming people but we also have to be very careful about how we do that."
Under new legislation teachers accused of crimes against children now have automatic anonymity untiil they are charged.
Speaking about the impact of the Leveson report on police-press relations, he said: "We've now got to a position where the police are so reluctant to tell you anything. It's gone too far the other way."

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

Topics in this article : ,

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network