How did Jimmy Savile get away with it?

Here was someone bordering on the unofficial status of 'national treasure' for his charity work, his colourful outfits and eccentricities.

But while he was a star of prime time television he was abusing victims from five-year-olds to pensioners.

Men, women, boys or girls, it mattered not to this depraved individual.

How was it that so many people could have been harmed by Savile and yet it took until he was dead for any of it to emerge?

We are not talking about some brutal dictator in a far away country, surrounded by guards armed to the teeth and keeping an iron fist around the authorities.

Jimmy Savile was just a celebrity. Nothing more.

Yet he was given unfettered access to Leeds General Infirmary to such an extent that investigators say he was able to commit acts of rape.

He had keys to departments, offices and was even able to go into the mortuary.

Often people talk about the 1960s and 1970s being a more innocent time.

In fact it was simply a time when these matters were not brought to light.

Savile's victims suffered in silence in the terrible belief that they would not be listened to or that they would be torn apart in court should they ever speak out.

Those who worked with Savile are quick now to say how odd they found him.

Hindsight is a useless tool, however.

It would be easy to say that Savile had somehow managed to hide his perversions.

Instead it now looks as though he was hiding in plain sight, safe in the knowledge that his celebrity status and his friendships with the powerful, such as the late former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, would act as a barrier against anyone speaking out or making the accusation.

How dreadful it must have been for Savile's victims to watch this vile man on his show Jim'll Fix It, sending children on trips of a lifetime and surrounded by other youngsters, knowing what he had done to them.

From his studio or his gadget chair, through the television camera, Savile showed nothing but contempt for all the people whose lives he has ruined.

Nothing can ever 'fix' what he has done or erase it.

All that anyone can do now is leave no stone unturned, make the truth come out and ensure that the hateful legacy of Jimmy Savile means no-one else suffers at the hands of others who think fame and fortune puts them above both the law and basic human decency.

Royals cost less than a chocolate bar

At £35.7 million, the cost of the monarchy to the taxpayer seems like an enormous sum.

But it works out at a mere 56p per year to each person in the country.

This is not money that the Royals use to fund lavish lifestyles. Instead a huge part of it is spent on restoring the historic palaces that in turn bring in tourists by the plane-load.

Wherever the Queen or her heirs go, they are greeted by delighted crowds waving the Union Flag. They draw attention to worthy causes and inspire pride in our history.

As diplomats they will charm visiting dignitaries or spread goodwill across the globe – whether it is Prince Harry in Jamaica or the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Australia.

The younger Royals are well aware of the sensitivities of public funding and have covered the costs of their own living arrangements themselves.

This should easily silence those who say they live large at our expense.

We would be hard pressed to find a bar of chocolate in a vending machine for less than the annual cost of the Royal Family.

A moment on the lips or a lifetime on the throne? There really is no contest.