Newsnight caught in fresh paedophile storm amid claims 'senior political figure' will be outed on show

Editor of the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism, Iain Overton, makes claim on Twitter

The tweet prompts furious speculation online about the identity of the alleged paedophile, who is still alive

Channel Four's Michael Crick claims he has spoken to the man, who denies allegations and will sue if Newsnight shows investigation

BBC refuses to confirm if the investigation into the alleged abuser exists

The BBC has been dragged into a fresh storm over a second Newsnight paedophile investigation, it emerged today.
Editor of the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism, Iain Overton, mysteriously tweeted that a 'senior political figure' was to be outed as a child-abuser on the programme this evening.
The investigation about the unnamed man, who is alive, is being looked at by the BBC's legal team, MailOnline understands, but the corporation is refusing to confirm the probe exists.
This is despite Mr Overton's crystal clear message online: 'If all goes well we've got a Newsnight out tonight about a very senior political figure who is a paedophile.'

Mr Overton's bureau is a not-for-profit organisation which works with news outlets to publish in-depth investigations. It says it has been working on this project for the BBC.

It piles more pressure on the beleaguered corporation after last month it was revealed Newsnight dumped an investigation into paedophile Sir Jimmy Savile, even though they had interviewed his victims.

Channel Four political correspondent Michael Crick says he has spoken to the man at the centre of the allegations, who denied that he was a paedophile and said he would sue if Newsnight broadcasts anything on him tonight.

He also added that the man said he had not been approached for a comment by the BBC, despite it being earmarked for tonight's Newsnight.

The Metropolitan Police have told MailOnline they have not been handed anything on the subject of the investigation.

Read more: Daily Mail

Freddie Starr arrested in Jimmy Savile abuse inquiry

Entertainer Freddie Starr has been arrested in the police inquiry into sex abuse claims against Jimmy Savile.

Mr Starr, from Warwickshire, was arrested by Operation Yewtree officers on suspicion of sexual offences and has been taken into police custody locally.

He has denied claims he groped a girl of 14 while in a room with Savile.

Meanwhile, an independent review into BBC Newsnight's dropping of a programme about the allegations against Savile will report later this month.

Meanwhile, an independent review into BBC Newsnight's dropping of a programme about the allegations against Savile will report later this month.
Operation Yewtree is a Scotland Yard criminal inquiry into sexual abuse claims.
The Metropolitan Police said officers arrested a man in his 60s, from Warwickshire, at 17:45 GMT in connection with the investigation and was "taken into police custody locally".
Police said the individual fell under the strand of the investigation termed "Savile and others".
On Sunday, ex-pop star Gary Glitter was arrested and bailed after being questioned as part of the inquiry.
Glitter, 68, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was arrested at home and questioned at a London police station before being released on bail until mid-December.

Read more: BBC News

Jimmy Savile: Steptoe and Son actor Wilfrid Brambell 'abused boys in Jersey' claims whistleblower

Wilfrid Brambell, the actor, became the latest BBC celebrity accused of child sex abuse last night after it emerged that two people had come forward in Jersey claiming to be his victims.

Brambell, who played the “dirty old man” Albert Steptoe in the comedy Steptoe and Son, allegedly abused two boys in a theatre in Jersey at the height of his fame in the 1970s.

One of the alleged victims was a resident at the notorious Haut de la Garenne children’s home which was at the centre of a high-profile police investigation into historical child abuse on the island in 2008.

He claimed to have been taken to the island’s main theatre, the Opera House, as a “treat” before being taken backstage to meet Brambell, who he accuses of molesting him in a back room.

The second victim, who had not been a Haut de la Garenne resident, also claimed to have been abused by Brambell at the theatre. The alleged victims were aged 12-13 at the time.

Brambell, who died in 1985, was homosexual and had a criminal record for “persistently importuning for an immoral purpose” in a public lavatory dating from 1962.

The allegations were made to former Jersey health minister Stuart Syvret, the most outspoken critic of the island’s failure to deal with child abuse when the Haut de la Garenne scandal erupted four years ago.

He was contacted by dozens of people who had been abused on the island, some of whom named Jimmy Savile as one of their abusers.

Mr Syvret told The Daily Telegraph: “Two of the people who contacted me said that they were abused by Wilfrid Brambell.

“I was told that he visited the back rooms of the Jersey Opera House and abuse would happen there.
Read More: The Telegraph