Freddie Starr arrested as part of Savile child sex inquiry

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Thursday, November 1, 2012

Freddie Starr in 1976
Image: Lawson Speedway.

UK comedian Freddie Starr was arrested today as part of the ongoing inquiries into sexual abuse offences being conducted following claims made about deceased BBC television presenter Jimmy Savile.

Along with many allegations from many other women in the wider investigation, Karin Ward claims she was groped by Starr in the 1970s when she, then aged 14, attended a recording of Savile's television show 'Clunk Click'. Starr's is the second arrest following investigations into the claims made about Savile. The glam rock musician Gary Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, was arrested for questioning on Sunday. Glitter has gone to prison in the United Kingdom for downloading child pornography and in Vietnam for child sex offences.

Freddie Starr has denied the accusations made against him and said he would welcome the chance to speak to the police.

Oral evidence will be presented next week to an independent inquiry at the BBC into the decision to cancel a planned Newsnight story regarding Jimmy Savile allegations. The former head of Sky News, Nick Pollard, has been asked to see if the BBC handled the Newsnight investigation properly. Pollard's inquiry will also look into claims made in a blog post made in October by the editor of Newsnight, Peter Rippon. The post has attracted criticism from BBC journalists and has been edited with corrections a number of times since.


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