Jimmy Savile 'Molested Brain-Damaged Patient'

Sir Jimmy Savile molested a brain-damaged hospital patient, according to fresh claims against the presenter.

Former nurse June Thornton was recovering from an operation at Leeds General Infirmary when she says she saw Savile abuse the young girl.

"She had brain damage, and Jimmy Savile came in and kissed her," she said.

"He started kissing her neck, running his hands up and down her arms, and then started to molest her. Because I was laid flat on my back, there was nothing I could do."

It comes as Greater Manchester Police revealed they had received two separate complaints of sexual abuse relating to the late TV presenter dating back to the 1960s.

They have been passed on to the Metropolitan Police, who have so far recorded two criminal allegations of rape and six allegations of indecent assault against the former Top of the Pops presenter.

The BBC has given further details of its inquiry into the allegations, some of which relate to the period when Savile was employed by the BBC and are alleged to have taken place on the corporation's premises.

BBC chairman Lord Patten said the independent review, which will take place after the police investigation, would be chaired by "someone who holds the trust of the nation".

There will also be a review of sexual harassment, bullying and whistle-blowing guidelines at the BBC.

Five police forces are involved in the investigation, while charities say they continue to receive dozens of phone calls relating to the Jim'll Fix It star, who died aged 84 last year.

In total, police are pursuing 120 lines of inquiry. They believe there were up to 25 victims, the youngest of whom was just 13, and that the abuse spanned four decades.

A 2007 radio interview with Newstalk 106-108FM has also emerged, in which Savile denies rumours he was a child abuser.

He strongly refuted the allegations - which had earlier been broadcast in the documentary When Louis Met: Jimmy Savile with Louis Theroux - saying there had been no need to respond.

"What is the point of responding to something if it's not true," he told the radio station.

As police continue their investigation, the former DJ's gravestone has been removed from a cemetery in Scarborough at the request of his family. The headstone will be broken up and dumped in a landfill site.

Outlining details of the BBC's probe into the sexual abuse claims, Lord Patten said the broadcaster would consider making another, formal apology - possibly during prime air time - when they publish their findings.

The BBC chair said he did not know Savile but always thought he was "an odd customer".

He backed the handling of events by his new director general George Entwistle, reiterating that at no point had BBC management put pressure on Newsnight not to run an investigation into child abuse claims against Savile.