Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile was an English DJ and television and radio personality who hosted BBC shows including Top of the Pops and Jim'll Fix It. During his lifetime, he was well-known in the United Kingdom for his eccentric image and his charitable work. After his death, hundreds of allegations of sexual abuse made against him were investigated, leading the police to conclude that he had been a predatory sex offender and possibly one of Britain's most prolific. There had been allegations during his lifetime, but they were dismissed and accusers ignored or disbelieved. Savile took legal action against some accusers.
Sir Cyril Richard Smith was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochdale from 1972 to 1992. After his death, hundreds of allegations of child sexual abuse were made against him, leading authorities to conclude that he was a prolific sex offender.
The Kincora Boys' Home was a boys' home in Belfast, Northern Ireland, that was the scene of serious organised child sexual abuse. It caused a scandal and led to an attempted cover-up in 1980, with allegations of state collusion. On 31 May 2016, the Northern Ireland Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry (HIA) began examining allegations relating to Kincora, including claims that a paedophile ring with links to the intelligence services was based there. Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers said that all state agencies would co-operate with the inquiry.
The North Wales child abuse scandal was the subject of a three-year, £13 million investigation into the physical and sexual abuse of children in care homes in the counties of Clwyd and Gwynedd, in North Wales, including the Bryn Estyn children's home at Wrexham, between 1974 and 1990. The report into the scandal, headed by retired High Court judge Sir Ronald Waterhouse QC, which was published in 2000, resulted in changes in policy in England and Wales into how authorities deal with children in care, and to the settling of 140 compensation claims on behalf of victims of child abuse.
An investigation into historic child abuse in Jersey started in the spring of 2007. Before that, social worker Simon Bellwood had made a complaint about a "'Dickensian' system" where children as young as 11 were routinely locked up for 24 hours or more in solitary confinement in a secure unit where he worked. The wider investigation into child abuse over several decades became public in November that year. It received international attention when police moved in on Haut de la Garenne, then being used as a youth hostel.
Exaro or Exaro News was a British website based in London between 2011 and 2016. It purportedly undertook political investigative journalism, but is now primarily known for its direct involvement in the false allegations of sexual abuse put forward by "Nick" in Operation Midland.
Operation Yewtree was a British police investigation into sexual abuse allegations, predominantly the abuse of children, against the English media personality Jimmy Savile and others. The investigation, led by the Metropolitan Police Service (Met), started in October 2012. After a period of assessment, it became a full criminal investigation, involving inquiries into living people, notably other celebrities, as well as Savile, who had died the previous year.
It emerged in late 2012 that Jimmy Savile, an English media personality who had died the previous year, sexually abused hundreds of people throughout his life, most of them children but some as old as 75, and most of them female. He had been well known in the United Kingdom for his eccentric image and was generally respected for his charitable work, which associated him with the British monarchy and other individuals of personal power.
Raymond Teret was an English radio disc jockey who started his career in the 1960s. In December 2014 he was convicted of rape and indecent assault, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He died in prison in May 2021 at the age of 79, having served just over six years behind bars.
In 2012 and 2013, the British Broadcasting Corporation was involved in a series of investigations, accusations and scandals related to sexual abuse committed by employees, and the reporting of allegations of abuse by others. The issue of child sexual abuse by BBC employees was publicised nationally in October 2012 as part of the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal. Savile was a radio DJ and TV personality who presented the programmes Top of the Pops, Jim'll Fix It and Clunk Click, and was a well known charity fundraiser. Allegations of sexual abuse by Savile and other BBC employees were reported to have taken place in a number of locations across the country, including BBC Television Centre.
The Elm Guest House was a hotel in Rocks Lane, near Barnes Common in southwest London. In a list produced by convicted fraudster Chris Fay, several prominent British men were alleged to have engaged in sexual abuse and child grooming at the Guest House in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Labour MP Tom Watson, having heard testimony from Carl Beech, suggested in an October 2012 statement to the House of Commons that a paedophile network which had existed at this time may have brought children to parties at the private residence.
Giving Victims a Voice is a report published in January 2013, relating to allegations of sexual abuse made against English DJ and BBC Television presenter Jimmy Savile (1926–2011) as part of the Operation Yewtree criminal investigation. It was initiated as a result of publicity surrounding the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) jointly produced this report. It marked the end of investigations made under the operation regarding Savile alone.
The Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal consists of the organised child sexual abuse that occurred in the town of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, Northern England from the late 1980s until present and the failure of local authorities to act on reports of the abuse throughout most of that period. Researcher Angie Heal, who was hired by local officials and warned them about child exploitation occurring between 2002 and 2007, has since described it as the "biggest child protection scandal in UK history". Evidence of the abuse was first noted in the early 1990s, when care home managers investigated reports that children in their care were being picked up by taxi drivers. From at least 2001, multiple reports passed names of alleged perpetrators, several from one family, to the police and Rotherham Council. The first group conviction took place in 2010, when five British-Pakistani men were convicted of sexual offences against girls aged 12–16. From January 2011 Andrew Norfolk of The Times pressed the issue, reporting in 2012 that the abuse in the town was widespread and that the police and council had known about it for over ten years.
Child sexual abuse in the United Kingdom has been reported in the country throughout its history. In about 90% of cases the abuser is a person known to the child. However, cases during the second half of the twentieth century, involving religious institutions, schools, popular entertainers, politicians, military personnel, and other officials, have been revealed and widely publicised since the beginning of the twenty-first century. Child sexual abuse rings in numerous towns and cities across the UK have also drawn considerable attention.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in England and Wales was an inquiry examining how the country's institutions handled their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse. It was announced by the British Home Secretary, Theresa May, on 7 July 2014. It published its 19th and final report on 20 October 2022.
Operation Midland was a criminal investigation which the London Metropolitan Police carried out between November 2014 and March 2016 in response to false allegations of historic child abuse made by Carl Beech.
Operation Hydrant is a British police investigation into allegations of "non-recent" child sexual abuse. It co-ordinates a number of other investigations by police forces throughout the United Kingdom. It is headed by Simon Bailey, the Chief Constable of Norfolk Constabulary. It began after the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal prompted more complainants to come forward.
In October 2012, Dame Janet Smith was appointed by the BBC to lead an inquiry into the corporation's connection to the sexual abuse committed by Jimmy Savile, a popular television and radio host. The final report, titled The Dame Janet Smith Review Report, was published on 25 February 2016.
A child sexual abuse scandal involving the abuse of young players at football clubs in the United Kingdom began in mid-November 2016. The revelations began when former professional footballers waived their rights to anonymity and talked publicly about being abused by former coaches and scouts in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. This led to a surge of further allegations, as well as allegations that some clubs had covered them up.
The sexual abuse scandal at Crewe Alexandra F.C. concerned child sexual abuse by former football coach Barry Bennell while employed at English professional football club Crewe Alexandra in the 1980s. While Bennell had been convicted for sex offences in the US in 1994 and in the UK in 1998, fresh allegations were made in November 2016, initially relating to Crewe Alexandra and Manchester City. The scandal then rapidly extended as allegations were made about numerous other abusers at many other UK football clubs. The Football Association, football clubs and police forces quickly established various inquiries and investigations; by July 2018, 300 suspects were reported to have been identified by 849 alleged victims, with 2,807 incidents involving 340 different clubs.
