The photograph of the old man with the wild eyes and wispy grey hair has long been removed from the walls of the Flying Pizza in Roundhay, Leeds. But during a busy lunchtime this week at the bar of what was his favourite restaurant, the ghost of Jimmy Savile lingers.
The Flying Pizza and his nearby penthouse apartment overlooking Roundhay Park were, until his death two years ago, the centre of Savile’s Leeds empire. He would swan in at least once every few weeks, boasting to regulars of his celebrity status. It was like he had the “keys to the city”, one recalls. What seemed at the time like mere celebrity bragging is now known to be much, much worse.
Leeds – like the rest of the country – has been left reeling by the waves of accusations that have turned one of its most famous sons into its most notorious. We now know that Savile is one of the worst-ever sex attackers in Britain. A man who is suspected of raping 34 women and girls, and sexually assaulting up to 450 people, including children as young as eight.
But what is only starting to emerge from this horror story is the extent to which the police appeared to have enabled Savile to claim he was untouchable. This week, a retired Leeds policeman has claimed that “there wasn’t a copper in the city who didn’t know Savile was a pervert”.
The ex-Leeds City Police officer, speaking under the alias Paul Leonard, said that in 1965 he had come across Savile’s Rolls-Royce parked in a secluded lay-by near Roundhay Golf Club. The then DJ and fledgling television presenter reportedly warned: “I’m waiting for midnight when she turns 16… so p--s off if you want to keep your job.” After reporting the incident to a sergeant, Leonard says he was told: “Shut up, son. He’s got friends in high places.”
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15 Oct 2013The claim came days after the publication of the transcript of a 2009 interview in which Savile was questioned by Surrey Police over accusations that he had abused girls at the Duncroft children’s home in Berkshire in the Seventies. The serial paedophile told detectives he had not done anything wrong in 83 years and boasted of “senior police persons” who came to visit him every week at his flat in Leeds in what was known as the “Friday morning club”.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has now launched an investigation into a recently retired West Yorkshire Police inspector, revealed for the first time yesterday as Mick Starkey. The 61‑year-old is alleged to have contacted Surrey Police before the interview in 2009 and “acted on behalf” of Savile. Starkey had previously been known as a regular at the Friday morning club, which was frequented by serving and retired West Yorkshire police officers, and he would regularly chauffeur the celebrity around in his Rolls-Royce.
The influence Savile claimed to wield over the police is shocking, but was no secret at the Flying Pizza, where the TV presenter would talk of his “hotline” to officers. “He used to come in here on his own and talk about the Friday meetings,” says Francis, a 63-year-old retired doorman who knew Savile well from the late Sixties onwards.
Speaking for the first time, he says: “He used to take great delight in telling people that if he had any problems, his friends at Millgarth
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