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| Jimmy Savile's extraordinary access to Margaret Thatcher detailed in secret files | Jimmy Savile's extraordinary access to Margaret Thatcher detailed in secret files |
| (4 months later) | |
| Jimmy Savile gleefully informed the prime minister about "my girl patients" after meeting her at a Downing Street fund-raising ceremony where he sought advice on charities' tax deductions. | Jimmy Savile gleefully informed the prime minister about "my girl patients" after meeting her at a Downing Street fund-raising ceremony where he sought advice on charities' tax deductions. |
| A letter preserved in Downing Street's records sheds fresh light on the extraordinary access the now disgraced BBC television presenter enjoyed at the height of his popularity. | A letter preserved in Downing Street's records sheds fresh light on the extraordinary access the now disgraced BBC television presenter enjoyed at the height of his popularity. |
| In the letter sent to Margaret Thatcher during her first year in office, Savile displayed all his brazen charms. The note, featuring a prominent colour photo of himself, declared: "Dear Prime Minister, I waited a week before writing to thank you for my lunch invitation because I had such a superb time I didn't want to be too effusive. | In the letter sent to Margaret Thatcher during her first year in office, Savile displayed all his brazen charms. The note, featuring a prominent colour photo of himself, declared: "Dear Prime Minister, I waited a week before writing to thank you for my lunch invitation because I had such a superb time I didn't want to be too effusive. |
| "My girl patients pretended to be madly jealous and wanted to know what you wore and what you ate. All the paralysed lads called me 'Sir James' all week. They all love you. Me too!! Jimmy Savile OBE xxx." | "My girl patients pretended to be madly jealous and wanted to know what you wore and what you ate. All the paralysed lads called me 'Sir James' all week. They all love you. Me too!! Jimmy Savile OBE xxx." |
| A subsequent Downing Street note showed sensitivity only about the financial aspect of government dealings with the former disc jockey. "Jimmy Saville asked you about the length of time necessary for charitable covenants to qualify for tax relief," a prime ministerial aide noted. ".. the chancellor has already decided to reduce the time period for 7 years to 4 years in next finance bill. We can not even hint at this to Jimmy Savile at present." | A subsequent Downing Street note showed sensitivity only about the financial aspect of government dealings with the former disc jockey. "Jimmy Saville asked you about the length of time necessary for charitable covenants to qualify for tax relief," a prime ministerial aide noted. ".. the chancellor has already decided to reduce the time period for 7 years to 4 years in next finance bill. We can not even hint at this to Jimmy Savile at present." |
| Thatcher and Savile met quite often. The file records two further public engagements in early 1981. "Jimmy Saville saw the prime minister this morning with the architect's plans for Stoke Mandeville Hospital," another report records. "He suggested to her that as a goodwill gesture to all the members of the public who had contributed, the prime minister might be prepared to give a 'government grant'." | Thatcher and Savile met quite often. The file records two further public engagements in early 1981. "Jimmy Saville saw the prime minister this morning with the architect's plans for Stoke Mandeville Hospital," another report records. "He suggested to her that as a goodwill gesture to all the members of the public who had contributed, the prime minister might be prepared to give a 'government grant'." |
| A letter from the Department of Health and Social Security suggested she should not spend NHS cash but make a "symbolic gesture; such as the donation of the first brick (if this was not too late)." | A letter from the Department of Health and Social Security suggested she should not spend NHS cash but make a "symbolic gesture; such as the donation of the first brick (if this was not too late)." |
| In March 1981, Savile had lunch with Thatcher at Chequers - prompting anxious enquiries from her civil servants. "Prime Minister: Can you kindly let me know if you made any promises to Jimmy Savile when he lunched with you yesterday, for instance: (i) Did you offer him any money for Stoke Mandeville? (ii) Did you tell him that you would appear on Jim'll Fix it?" | In March 1981, Savile had lunch with Thatcher at Chequers - prompting anxious enquiries from her civil servants. "Prime Minister: Can you kindly let me know if you made any promises to Jimmy Savile when he lunched with you yesterday, for instance: (i) Did you offer him any money for Stoke Mandeville? (ii) Did you tell him that you would appear on Jim'll Fix it?" |
| Against the last question Thatcher scrawled in her trademark, dark felt pen: 'No'. In terms of the cash, she wrote: "Promised to get govt contribution. MT." | Against the last question Thatcher scrawled in her trademark, dark felt pen: 'No'. In terms of the cash, she wrote: "Promised to get govt contribution. MT." |
| The government eventually donated £500,000 to Stoke Mandeville. The exchanges may well be characteristic of a more innocent-minded era but some papers and sections of the file remain withheld from public scrutiny for another 10 years, including the contents of a letter and a "telephone message" from Saville to Downing Street on February 5th 1980. | The government eventually donated £500,000 to Stoke Mandeville. The exchanges may well be characteristic of a more innocent-minded era but some papers and sections of the file remain withheld from public scrutiny for another 10 years, including the contents of a letter and a "telephone message" from Saville to Downing Street on February 5th 1980. |
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