Broadmoor: Savile was 'a lunatic in charge of the asylum'

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Tom Clark now as the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal has unfolded the BBC has been the focus of much attention but serious questions remain about how the TV star was able to abused patients at the hospitals he was connected with now two former nurses at the high-security psychiatric hospital Broadmoor have spoken to Channel four News for the first time both told us that mental health professionals in the hospital knew that Savile was a pedophile park O'Brien has this exclusive report at 10:00 a.m. every Monday for the last 60 years the alarm is tested at Broadmoor it's a reminder of the day John strappin escaped in 1952 he walked into a nearby village and murdered the first child he met it's a reminder of the type of patients that are here a reminder of how specialized their treatment has to be so here's a question why did no one sound the alarm in 1988 when someone decided it would be a good idea to put Jimmy Savile in charge Channel 4 News has been speaking to former doctors nurses and other staff that worked in Broadmoor at the time about Savile's role here they paint an almost incredible picture of a man with lots of power and of a man with lots in common with the patients here Richard Harrison's house backs on to the perimeter wall he was a psychiatric nurse here for 30 years during salvos tenure so what was the mental health professionals assessment of jimmy savile well I'd long considered him as many of my colleagues did as a man with a severe personality disorder with with the liking for children what was the talk among staff he was regarded as a beautiful by you by the professional staff and that we develop patients many of those knew that he was happy the giveaway then pedophiles would gravitate towards savile when he was in the hospital Richard Harrison had a colleague a staff nurse at the time called Bob Allen I'd say he was a psychopath I would actually say he was without a doubt it's just the way his attitude was he's blasé attitude to everything he didn't seem to care or worry about anything a lot of our stuff always said he should be behind the bars and we still laugh about it in those days then one night while patrolling the perimeter fence Bob Allen stopped laughing jimmy savile car pulled into Broadmoor and parked outside the terrorists house that he'd been given by the hospital I actually saw him step out and he stepped out with a young girl did she look like a child did she look like a she was certainly over 13 I would have said but she was he was she was definitely not not on that of age she was under 16 I would have said that's the way I look that was the look that she had then Bob Allen noticed something else the young girl had just taken part in a local village carnival the girl had Walt was wearing a sash so she was obviously a girl off one of the float set from the carnival that day I said hello German and there was a just a nod that mean there was no mention back I just walked on I watched him go into the house I saw the lights go on I carried on walking and I just kept on looking I was thinking to myself at the time you know what's what's going on here then Bob Allen saw the lights go off in the house so you saw this you felt that it was wrong and what what did you do about her I went into our gated area where I saw my immediate superior then and as far as I know he reported it and the following day I asked what was the outcome and it was really just well nobody appears to be interested yeah and what about other staff concerns why didn't you do anything about it though why didn't you refer ago what could you do I mean who would who would take any notice but here's the thing Savile wasn't just a visitor here incredibly for a time he was in charge in 1988 Health Minister Edwina Corey appointed Savile to head up a task force to run the place at the time Marjorie woz was working with some patients in the hospital she remembers asking officials at the Department of Health why I was told look this is quite a coup we're trying to change the culture here why do you think concerns that may have been raised fell on such deaf ears time and time again I think it's because that would have spoiled what they hoped was happening which was that things were opening up here's how Savile described his new job at the time we are a great listening Hospital we listen to people I listen to nurses I listen to doc I listen to Porter's listen to drivers listen to everybody we've turned into a great listening Hospital Broadmoor needed a shake-up at the time it was in the throes of an industrial dispute and officials thought Savile could fix it he was given access all areas he had so much power he could overrule senior nurses one Christmas morning Savile insisted that a group of highly medicated volatile patients be given alcohol against the wishes of the man in charge of the ward he turned to me and said oh he said I'm in charge now he said I'll get them a drink he left the ward and within 30 minutes he returned with some beers but one of the staff noticed on the cans that they were expired beers favor beers that he found near the rubbish bin it sounds completely bizarre so using the Jimmy Savile served up gone off beer against the recommendations of you heading up that Ward one Christmas morning and the consultant in charge of the unit at the time when he discovered what he'd done was furious about him and there's more in the AC Savile bolstered about overseeing the discharge of a hundred patients the son caught the Department of Health spokesperson he has a reputation for getting things done and he is the man in charge we've spoken to Audrina Cory the minister at the time who made his appointment she wouldn't be interviewed but sent as a statement which included the following rather cryptic line about Savile what he did have as I know for certain is information which gave him a hold over staff that can explain why they said nothing even with their knowledge or suspicion of his misbehavior as a result ministers were never given the information when we could have barred him from the place the Department of Health has now launched an inquiry into what happened at Broadmoor what happened powerful people were taken in by celebrity they put a pedophile in charge who went on to abuse patients and others for the men and women at the department it was blue skies thinking for the people on the ground it was something else can you remember how you and the rest of the staff reacted when Savile was appointed they would say the lunatics have taken over the asylum

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Channel: Channel 4 News

Views: 648,544

Rating: 4.7208195 out of 5

Keywords: Jimmy, Savile, paedophile, DJ, entertainer, BBC, Broadmoor

Id: rGWglgGG_aE

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Length: 8min 2sec (482 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 31 2012

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