The Power of the Paedos - another high profile case hits the 'never happened' wall?

[Jan Klimkowski]

Predatory paedophiles and predatory bankers.

This is what happens when it's determined that Greed Is Good and "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law".

Lawyers of abuse victims accuse NatWest of 'milking' Jimmy Savile's estate

Fears grow that assets are shrinking and that there will not be enough money to compensate those who suffered


Mark Townsend
The Observer, Saturday 13 April 2013 15.33 BST

Jimmy Savile's estate has been shrinking in value. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod

NatWest has been accused of "robbing" the victims of Jimmy Savile after the bank spent more than £1m earmarked as compensation for individuals sexually abused by the disgraced television presenter.

The bank, trustee of Savile's estate, put on hold the distribution of its assets last October in the face of impending compensation claims from individuals sexually abused by the late DJ. The move was initially welcomed by lawyers representing victims on the assumption that it would ensure that the estate could provide compensation.

The estate was worth £4.3m, but during the subsequent six months its value has fallen to £3m, a significant reduction that has infuriated lawyers acting for the victims of one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders.

A legal source with knowledge of the Savile estate claimed that the reason for the huge drop is because of the costs NatWest is incurring in administrating Savile's estate, including its lawyers' fees. The expenditure has triggered accusations that money destined for the victims is being depleted at an alarming rate

Savile had been a household name since he presented the first Top Of The Pops in 1964. Around 450 victims have come forward to allege incidents against Savile, who was knighted in 1996 and who died 18 months ago aged 84.

Pannone solicitors, representing 40 alleged victims, raised their misgivings over NatWest's handling of the Savile estate when issuing a writ at the high court in February. Alan Collins, specialist child abuse solicitor at Pannone, said he was concerned to learn of reports that the estate had been eroded.

Collins said: "We are trying to solve this situation with NatWest and are endeavouring to provide just and proper compensation. We are concerned that large sums of money that could have helped victims rebuild their lives are no longer there."

Although £70,000 of the estate was spent on Savile's funeral in November 2011 at Leeds cathedral, the rest of the money appears to have been spent by the bank. A legal source involved with the estate said: "If NatWest and its lawyers are milking the estate, it's offensive. The estate is being stripped out. It's as if they've thought they can make money out of this, as if they've viewed the whole thing as a gravy train. They are robbing Savile's victims, let alone the beneficiaries, who at this rate will probably end up with nothing," he added.

NatWest is a member of the RBS group, which recently announced a huge increase in operating profits to £3.46bn and was embroiled in the scandal surrounding interest mis-selling rate swaps and fixing the Libor rate.

The reputation of the banking sector came under fresh scrutiny last week when former HBOS chief executive Sir James Crosby asked for his knighthood to be removed following a critical report into the bank's collapse during the financial crisis.

According to Savile's will, drawn up in 2006, the man described by police as a "predatory sex offender" aimed to bequeath his savings and other assets to 26 separate beneficiaries, including the Jimmy Savile Charitable Trust.

It is believed Savile could have abused hundreds of children over a 40-year period. The Met's Operation Yewtree has confirmed it is investigating hundreds of claims from people who say they were victims dating as far back as the 1950s. The full scale of Savile's 54-year campaign of abuse was detailed in a joint police and NSPCC report in January. It revealed that Savile's youngest victim was an eight-year-old boy and that he also abused seriously ill children. There are at least 214 criminal offences recorded against his name, including 34 rapes.

Lawyers who specialise in abuse claims say damages in such cases could reach £20,000 but could be much more in individual cases and would depend on factors including the nature of the sexual abuse, frequency, the child's age and proven psychiatric injury. Savile is alleged to have carried out abuse on BBC premises and other institutions including the high-security psychiatric hospital Broadmoor, Stoke Mandeville Hospital and Leeds General Infirmary.

A NatWest spokesman said: "All expenses to date have been approved through the court. We are working with the legal representatives of claimants and beneficiaries to agree future costs."