£3.3m from Jimmy Savile's estate to go to his victims as compensation
JIMMY Savile’s victims could receive compensation from the taxpayer for the abuse which occurred in NHS hospitals, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt told MPs yesterday.
Savile’s estate is to be used by the authorities to offer financial recompense to his victims but if the money left in his will runs out, the Government will step in.
Savile’s estate is worth a reported £3.3million. A High Court ruling earlier this year said victims could make claims of up to £60,000 from the estate, the NHS or the BBC, where he also abused children in dressing rooms.
Mr Hunt said: “The Government will underwrite this so if there are any claims that are not able to be met by the estate we will finance that from the public purse. But we do think the estate is the first place to start.”
Tracey Storey, of solicitors Irwin Mitchell, who represented some of the victims, said: “They have suffered massively because of Savile’s abuse of power.”