Jimmy Savile investigation: BBC's reputation on the line

The chairman of the BBC Trust, Lord Patten, has said he is dedicated to getting to the bottom of the Jimmy Savile scandal that has engulfed the corporation, vowing there would be ''no covering our backs''.

Lord Patten said the BBC's reputation is on the line and that it has risked squandering the public's trust.

He promised that the BBC will not hide behind smokescreens, but ''must tell the truth and face up to the truth about itself, however terrible''.

Speaking of Savile's apparent decades of criminality, he wrote in the Mail on Sunday: ''Can it really be the case that no one knew what he was doing? Did some turn a blind eye to criminality?

"Did some prefer not to follow up their suspicions because of this criminal's popularity and place in the schedules? Were reports of criminality put aside or buried? Even those of us who were not there at the time are inheritors of the shame.''

Lord Patten also apologised ''unreservedly'' to the abused women who spoke to the BBC's Newsnight programme but did not have their stories told.

The BBC chairman said the two independent inquiries that have been set up - one into the Newsnight report, the other into the BBC's culture and practices in the years Savile worked there - must get to the truth of what happened.

Lord Patten said: ''Now my immediate priority is to get to the bottom of the Savile scandal and to make any and every change necessary in the BBC to learn the lessons from our independent investigations''.

Yesterday Savile's closest relatives broke their silence to say their ''own despair and sadness does not compare to that felt by the victims'' who were abused by the late TV presenter.

In a statement released by Savile's nephew, Roger Foster, the family said: ''How could the person we thought we knew and loved do such a thing?

''Why would a man who raised so much money for charity, who gave so much of his own time and energy for others, risk it all doing indecent criminal acts? How could anyone live their life doing the 'most good and most evil' at the same time?''

Mr Foster said the family could understand the victims' ''reluctance to say anything earlier'' and said the family could ''appreciate the courage it has taken to speak out now''.

Following speculation that other celebrities from Savile's era could be accused of sexual offences, PR guru Max Clifford claimed dozens of big name stars from the 1960s and 70s have contacted him because they are ''frightened'' they will become implicated in the widening child abuse scandal.

He said the stars were worried because at their peak they had lived a hedonistic lifestyle where young girls threw themselves at them but they ''never asked for anybody's birth certificate''.

Savile, who died last year at the age of 84, has been described as one of the most prolific sex offenders in recent UK history.

Scotland Yard detectives are currently dealing with about 300 alleged victims and are following more than 400 lines of inquiry.