Disgraced late British television star Jimmy Savile was questioned during the notorious Yorkshire Ripper investigation over 30 years ago, a senior officer who worked on the inquiry said on Tuesday.
Former West Yorkshire Police detective John Stainthorpe said the presenter — who police believe may have abused up to 300 children over four decades — was quizzed during the probe into the deaths of 13 women in northern England.
Peter Sutcliffe, dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper, is currently held at Broadmoor prison after being sentenced to life imprisonment over the murders in 1981.
Stainthorpe, who spent 40 years in the force, told ITV’s Calendar News: “When the Ripper was really active, one of the suspects put forward by the public was, in fact, Jimmy Savile.
“Obviously, it was not he, but he was interviewed along with many others.”
Sutcliffe befriended Savile, who died a year ago aged 84, during the former DJ’s visits to the high-security hospital and claimed the allegations of sexual abuse were false.
Sutcliffe, 66, told the Sun: “It’s a load of rubbish. People are just getting carried away.
“He visited a lot. He’d always come and chat with me on visits and I would introduce him to my visitors.”
The scandal surrounding Savile, one of the best-known stars of British TV and radio from the 1960s until the 1980s, has dragged in several public institutions where the abuse allegedly took place, including the BBC and three hospitals.
Savile was almost as well known in Britain for his charity fundraising as for his shiny tracksuits and love of cigars, raising an estimated £40 million for various causes in his lifetime.
Police say around 300 people have come forward with abuse claims linked to Savile, which would make the eccentric entertainer one of the most predatory sex offenders in British history.
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