Was there really a secret paedophile ring operating years ago ?

Might have been according to Dame Janet Smith's report. Get the impression that she thinks it was more 'turning a blind eye' when the talent was involved rather than an actual ring but she doesn't rule it out. There was certainly at least one witness who said one bloke took her in and then a range of others, including Savile,abused her. Sounds more like a ring than an individual to me.

That bollocks was an utter whitewash. The only person taken to task was Tony Blackburn who is a arse but an innocent arse. His sacking was a good diversionary tactic in my view.

It's never made much sense that Savile got away with what he did because of his 'celebrity'. No-one with any sort of brain thought he was a celebrity at all, except in a sort of 3rd rate, knows-how-to-promote-himself sort of way.

Much more likely that he got away with it because he was part of a racket....part of a group of people doing the same thing and protecting/promoting each other. Utter slimeballs. They make me want to vomit.

Don't get me wrong I totally agree with you on that. Everything suggests the 'talent' was running the place while management desperately looked the other way and allowing all sorts of bullying and abuse to go on. It's clear that the talent they were so scared of included a number of paedophiles and at least some managers must have known that. The only question is whether they were working together as a ring or as individuals who got on with their own crimes in isolation from each other.

Have to say that Grabec's point that Savile must have been part of something bigger seems spot on to me. I reckon it was a bigger network than any at the BBC though. Coppers, MPs, Lords - the lot.

I just don't get it. If I was rich and famous and had a hotline to practically any woman of my choice, why on earth would I choose to molest kids instead?
Personally I'd have gone straight for Nichelle Nicols.

Don't think abuse is really about sex Monty. Maybe for an Adam Johnson type there is an overlap but I think for people like Savile it's about exercising power and corrupting/destroying innocent victims. Even dead people were fair game and if you're into that sort of thing and kids even Nichelle's indisputable charms can't win you back to the path of righteousness.

I read quite a convincing article which suggested that Savile was basically chief pimp, who charged to procure kids for the powerful, who were/still are part of a massive ring. This is where he got his wealth from, and all funds for various charidees.

Ms Grabec and Mr Toulouse are correct IMHO. There were probably a lot of blind eyes within the BBC. remember around that time women were eye candy and totty, so feeling arses etc was the done thing. So having relations with kiddies was perhaps not that big a step for the likes of Saville and his "Network" of the rich, powerful and famous.

"having relations " ...I much prefer the more accurate "abusing" description of their crimes

The Goddard enquiry into Janner might reveal more about this kind of thing. Then again it might not.