AS police prepare to swoop on up to a dozen TV stars accused of being in league with paedophile Jimmy Savile, PR guru Max Clifford has claimed he has been contacted by a series of high-profile celebrities from the 1960s and 70s who are terrified they will be implicated in the scandal.

Clifford said the stars who had called him were "frightened to death" because at their peak they had lived hedonistic lifestyles where young girls threw themselves at them and they "never asked for anybody's birth certificate".

Meanwhile, Savile's relatives have spoken out about their "despair" at the emergence of the scandal and their sympathy for the victims.

Savile's nephew, Peter Foster, said: "Our feelings are in turmoil as we await the next turn of events. How could the person we thought we knew and loved do such a thing?

"The allegations are very serious and we have begun to have doubts as to our own feeling towards our uncle. Our thoughts and our prayers are with those who have suffered from every kind of abuse over so many years and we offer our deepest sympathy in what must have been a terrible time for all of them."

Savile's great-niece Caroline Robinson, 49, has claimed she was abused by him when she was 12.

Police are believed to be investigating three former BBC bosses from a 1980s TV show after victims claimed the men were in league with Savile. Scotland Yard is said to be preparing an "arrest strategy" to target living accomplices of the presenter who died last October, aged 84.

THE HOSPITALS

As allegations against disgraced TV presenter Savile mount, questions are being raised as to why the focus is on the BBC rather than the hospitals and care homes where young people were exposed to abuse.

While the furore surrounding the BBC's decision to shelve their Newsnight investigation into the former Top Of The Pops and Jim'll Fix It star unfolds, medical and care institutions run by local authorities, the Government and the NHS have also been the focus of hundreds of complaints against Savile.

As the Metropolitan Police's Operation Yewtree' prepares to make its first arrests, the Department of Health is carrying out an overarching investigation into the conduct in the hospitals which Savile had access to. Some individual hospital trusts are reviewing processes.

The Department of Health has appointed Kate Lampard, a former barrister and former deputy chair of the Financial Ombudsman Service, to oversee the department's and three NHS trusts' input into the ongoing inquiries relating to Savile's involvement with the NHS.

BROADMOOR

It has been widely reported that Savile was given free reign to roam Broadmoor, the secure psychiatric hospital, home to some of the country's most notorious criminals, as well as vulnerable patients. Savile is alleged to have carried out at least one sex attack on a teenage inmate in Broadmoor.

In 1988 he headed up a "task force" at the hospital after the management board was suspended ahead of the publication of a critical report into its operating procedures.

He had an office in the grounds of the hospital, a bedroom and his own set of keys to the wards. Savile also had access to Stoke Mandeville and Leeds General Infirmary and is alleged to have carried out sexual attacks at these locations, including one against a child thought to be brain damaged.

A spokeswoman from the Department of Health said: "Kate Lampard will provide oversight of the Stoke Mandeville, Leeds General Infirmary and Broadmoor inquiries as well as the Department of Health's inquiries into the appointment and role Savile held at Broadmoor Hospital."

new allegations

Allegations of abuse against Savile have poured into police offices across the UK. Lothian and Borders Police said they had received two disclosures, one of which was in relation to an historical incident which happened in Edinburgh, and the other relates to an historical incident in the Newcastle area. Tayside Police received one complaint of a historical incident said to have taken place in Liverpool. A spokesman from Lothian and Borders Police said: "Full details have been provided to the Metropolitan Police, and support is being offered to the women concerned."

THE SCOTTISH SEARCH

On Wednesday police from Northern Constabulary searched a cottage in Glencoe which was owned by Savile. He bought it in 1998 and had entertained guests, including Prince Charles, at the remote home.

Savile was well known in the area and held the position of honorary chieftain of the Lochaber Highland Games for many years.

Commander Peter Spindler, who is leading the inquiry into Savile's past, said the search was to secure "evidence of any others being involved in offending with him".

THE nhs investigations

Overall police have received 300 complaints against Savile since ITV's programme Exposure: The Other Side of Sir Jimmy Savile, aired on October 3.

Among the shocking revelations have been testimonies from former patients at Broadmoor mental hospital, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Leeds General Infirmary, pupils at Duncroft Approved School and residents in children's home Haut de la Garenne. There are also claims children were assaulted on BBC premises.

In a Panorama episode on Wednesday, journalists spoke to victims who claimed to have suffered sexual abuse at the hands of Savile.

Karin Ward, an ex-pupil at Duncroft approved school for girls in Staines, Surrey, told the BBC last November that she had been abused by Savile when she was a girl. But responsibility for an internal investigation at the home, which closed in 1980s, is unclear.

Surrey County Council said the school was run by the Home Office until April 1973, when it was taken over by National Mental Health Association, now known as MIND, and later run by Barnardo's.

Duncroft, like the other institutions linked to Savile, is the subject of a police investigation. A spokesman from the Home Office said it is not commenting.

JERSEY CONNECTION

As far away as Jersey, in the Channel Islands, historic abuse allegations against Jimmy Savile have reared their ugly head at Haut de la Garenne children's home.

The State of Jersey will host a public inquiry into historic child abuse claims linked to the school, as well as the police investigation.

A statement from Jersey Police said: "The Met police are co-ordinating the investigation and the States of Jersey Police have sent them one referral which has come in recent weeks. They are also aware of an allegation from 2008.

"Two other individuals have made contact with us but have declined to pursue a formal complaint. The Met Police are making initial approaches to all alleged victims to ensure consistency and, following assessment, will then determine how the investigation will progress."

STOKE MANDEVILLE

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust has launched a review into its safeguarding procedures following allegations linked to Stoke Mandeville hospital in Aylesbury.

A statement from the trust said: "We are aware that the police have now moved to a formal investigation into the allegations against Jimmy Savile and others."

leeds

Savile was also given widespread access to Leeds General Hospital, where the trust said it was "shocked" by allegations he abused patients while working as a volunteer and charity supporter.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said it did not have any record of complaints about Savile and that it was co-operating with police.

A spokesman for the trust said: "The Trust is in contact with senior detectives from the Metropolitan Police and we are helping them with their inquiries."

CROWN PROSECUTION SERVICE

In 2009, the CPS concluded that it was not possible to prosecute Jimmy Savile in relation to a file received from Surrey Police as there was insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction.

Business Secretary Vince Cable criticised the CPS, saying: "The real scandal is why was it that in 2009 when he was still alive, the CPS had a lot of evidence and yet didn't prosecute."

The file was submitted to the CPS following a complaint made by a woman who claimed she had witnessed an indecent assault by Savile in the 1970s.

The allegation was that Savile had indecently assaulted a girl under 16 at Duncroft children's home in the latter part of the decade.

Further police inquiries found three further potential offences involving Savile, which were submitted in the file to the CPS.

These included an alleged indecent assault on a girl under 16 at Stoke Mandeville hospital in or around 1973, an alleged incitement of a girl under 16 to engage in a sexual act at Duncroft children's home in the late 1970s and an alleged indecent assault on an adult in Sussex in 1970.

But the CPS said the evidence would not support a prosecution.

Keir Starmer QC, director of public prosecutions at the CPS, said: "The evidence submitted by Surrey Police in 2009 was considered by the CPS reviewing lawyer, who also held a face-to-face meeting with the investigating officers.

"Having considered the evidence the reviewing lawyer concluded that, in view of the fact that none of the victims were prepared to support any police action, there was insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.

"In light of the numerous allegations made about Jimmy Savile recently, last week I asked the Chief Crown Prosecutor for the South East, Roger Coe-Salazar, to read and consider the files in relation to the four incidents referred to us.

"He has done so and he has assured me that the decisions taken at the time were the right decisions.

"I have asked for the papers in the four cases to be provided to my principal legal adviser, Alison Levitt QC, forthwith so that she can consider the decisions made.

"I have said to the Attorney General that I would like to discuss with him whether the CPS should adopt a policy of referring cases to other relevant agencies, such as social services, where an allegation is made but cannot be proceeded with for evidential reasons."

the police

Seven alleged victims of Savile also made complaints to four separate police forces – Surrey, London, Sussex and Jersey – while the disgraced television presenter was alive but it was decided that no further action should be taken.

Since the allegations about Savile emerged, the NSPCC helpline has received 190 calls directly relating to Savile. Peter Watt, director of the children's charity, said: "The NSPCC helpline has never dealt with so many allegations against one individual."

Calls were "still coming in thick and fast and show little sign of slowing down", he added.

Yesterday, it emerged that the Archbishop of Westminister, head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, has written to the Vatican to ask for Savile's name to be removed from the papal honour's list.

The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols asked Church officials in Rome to investigate the matter, recognising the "deep distress" of the late presenter's abuse victims.

The papal honour awarded to Savile for his charitable works could be removed. He was made a Knight Commander of St Gregory the Great by Pope John Paul II in 1990.

A spokesman for the Archbishop said the letter was written in response to "the deep distress of all those who have suffered abuse" and "the disquiet at Mr Savile's name remaining on Papal Honours lists".