Savile abuse victims in Britain to sue BBC for damages

LONDON (REUTERS) - The people who were sexually abused in their youth by one of the BBC's most celebrated TV stars will sue the state-funded broadcaster and Jimmy Savile's estate, a lawyer representing some of the victims said on Thursday.

The abuse claims against the late Savile, described by police as one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders, have sullied the reputation of the BBC and thrown the jobs of its current and former boss into doubt.

Hundreds of victims have come forward in the scandal which casts Savile, a cigar-chomping DJ turned television star feted by royalty and politicians, as a paedophile who raped or groped children on BBC property.

"Certainly one is going to sue the BBC, and all are going to be suing the estate," Mr Alan Collins, a lawyer representing 12 Savile victims, told Reuters by telephone.