Celebrities 'frightened to death' of Jimmy Savile scandal, says Max Clifford

Dozens of big name stars from the 1960s and 70s have contacted Max Clifford “frightened to death” they will become implicated in the widening Jimmy Savile child abuse scandal, the PR guru has claimed.

He said the stars, some of whom are still big names today, were worried because at their peak they had lived a hedonistic lifestyle where young girls threw themselves at them but they "never asked for anybody's birth certificate".

Scotland Yard is leading the current investigation into accusations of abuse by former BBC DJ and presenter Savile, which now involve around 300 potential victims.

Speaking on London's LBC radio, Mr Clifford said young pop stars at the time had gone from working in a factory one week to performing in front of thousands of people "and girls are screaming and throwing themselves at them then".

"All kinds of things went on and I do mean young girls throwing themselves at them in their dressing rooms at concert halls, at gigs, whatever," he said.

"They never asked for anybody's birth certificate and they were young lads ... suddenly everyone's dream was a reality."

He added: "We are talking about a lot of people that were huge names in the 60s and 70s and a lot of them barely remember what they did last week, genuinely.

"For them to try and recount what happened in a dressing room in 1965 or 1968 or 1972, genuinely they are frightened to death."

He said that the investigation needed to focus on the "facilitators" who lurked on the periphery and had had years to cover their backs.

PA