An inquiry into the BBC’s “culture and practices” during the era of star presenter Jimmy Savile’s campaign of sexual abuse got underway.

Led by former Court of Appeal judge Dame Janet Smith, the probe will also determine whether the broadcaster’s child protection and whistle-blowing policies are up to scratch.

The inquiry comes a year to the day since Savile died aged 84 at his home in Leeds and a day after former pop star Gary Glitter was arrested and bailed by police investigating the Savile scandal.

Scotland Yard detectives are currently dealing with about 300 alleged victims and are following more than 400 lines of inquiry as part of their investigation into Savile and others.

Glitter’s arrest came as the chairman of the BBC Trust, Lord Patten, said he was dedicated to finding out the truth about the scandal that has engulfed the corporation, vowing there would be “no covering our backs”. An inquiry into possible BBC manage-ment failures over the canning of the Newsnight pro-gramme has also began under former head of Sky News Nick Pollard.

Gary Glitter, whose real nameis Paul Gadd, has been bailed to reappear at a police station in mid-December this year, pending further inquiries.

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