D L Travis Trial for Sexual Assault

[Teddy Bear]

For those who followed the Savile scandal and BBC cover-up there will be elements of deja-vu. Only difference is that this time the accused is alive, though for the time being he denies any wrongdoings.
Interesting that the independent victims from around the country describe such a similar behaviour by Travis.
Also as there was with Savile, there is apparently also a video showing Travis assaulting a girl on camera.

Isn't it interesting just how rife are these goings on within the BBC that have come to light with numerous 'celebrities', yet quite rare within the independent channels.
This fact alone says so much about the BBC, and why they should be have their funding stopped - COMPLETELY.

'Carnival princess was groped by star DJ Dave Lee Travis at hospital radio launch after being told "what Dave wants, Dave gets"'

• Former Radio 1 DJ faces 14 charges dating between 1976 and 2008
• One assault is alleged to have taken place while 'opportunistic' Travis was opening a hospital radio station
• Allegedly molested teenager after giving her a lift in his yellow Pontiac
• Jury hears Travis touched 15-year-old's breast at Showaddywaddy concert
• When Travis, 68, was playing an 'evil wizard' in a pantomime he 'attacked a theatre worker but stopped when a Chuckle Brother walked past'
• DJ 'groped student he'd told to keep watch and called her "securi-titty"'
• One victim allegedly shouted 'Don't touch me, you're a pervert!' after growing sick of his sexual advances

By Hugo Gye

Dave Lee Travis assaulted a teenager on camera during an episode of Top of the Pops, a court heard today.

The former Radio 1 DJ is on trial at Southwark Crown Court for allegedly attacking nearly a dozen young women over the course of three decades - including while acting in a pantomime and at the opening of a hospital radio station.

The 68-year-old, whose real name is David Patrick Griffin, faces 13 counts of indecent assault and one count of sexual assault, dating between 1976 and 2008.

Travis, from Buckinghamshire, is accused of assaulting 11 different women, one of whom was 15 at the time of the alleged offence. He denies all charges.

The court heard that Travis had accused the women of fabricating their stories for media attention, telling police: 'If you're in a sweet shop, you don't eat sweets.'

Prosecutor Miranda Moore QC today said that women had come forward from 'all parts of the United Kingdom' with allegations against Travis after the opening of a police investigation into claims of historic sex offences.

The alleged assaults were carried out by Travis 'in a work environment', including an appearance at the opening of a hospital radio station, Ms Moore said.

'The offences vary in gravity,' she said. 'All are sexual in nature involving unwanted contact by this defendant on much younger women, both over clothing and under clothing.'

Travis had been 'opportunist' in targeting 'young women who were very vulnerable', Ms Moore told the jury.

The jury was shown a short clip of Top of the Pops from 1978, in which it is alleged Travis is assaulting a teenager on camera.

The 19-year-old had travelled to the show with a friend and claims the presenter put his hand up her skirt to 'touch her bum', the court heard.

Ms Moore said the teenager 'pulled away from him very quickly' and added that her friend was 'aware of something happening'.

The lawyer added: 'She was embarrassed and thought no-one would believe her. The incident was actually cut from what was broadcast.'

The court heard that the earliest incident took place in 1976 or 1977 and involved an 18-year-old woman who was given a lift to Charing Cross station by Travis two or three times in his yellow Pontiac.

About a week after the last lift, Travis invited the alleged victim into a 'continuity suite' at his studio to choose a song to be played on the radio, the jury was told.

Travis asked if she wanted to dance and pressed his groin against her, Ms Moore said.

'She felt uncomfortable,' the prosecutor continued. 'She told him to stop and he grabbed her and put the red light on,' signifying that the studio was now broadcasting live.

'He appeared to her to be getting angry,' Ms Moore said. 'He put his hand up her skirt, going into her knickers.'

The 18-year-old woman ran from the room, 'not caring if she was live on air', the court heard.

Travis has claimed he did not remember the woman's name, never gave lifts to someone at 'her level', and the alleged incident did not happen, Ms Moore said.

The next incident, in which Travis allegedly assaulted a 15-year-old girl, took place in June 1978 at a Showaddywaddy concert at a farm in Gloucestershire, the court heard.

Jurors were told that after walking eight miles to the gig, the girl saw Travis standing in the door of his trailer and he invited her in for a drink then commented on her breasts.

Ms Moore told the court that Travis said 'I love big boobs' and indecently touched the girl, adding that she was pinned to her seat and 'thought he was going to rape her'.

Travis allegedly assaulted a woman working in the pantomime Aladdin in which he was appearing in Crawley, West Sussex, between November 1990 and January 1991, the court heard.

He was playing the 'evil wizard' Abanazar in the show, which also featured Barry and Paul Elliott, known as the Chuckle Brothers.

Travis pressed against the woman and held the door shut in a room at the theatre, then ran his hand up her leg and touched her groin, the prosecutor said.

The DJ pulled his hand out of her jogging bottoms when one of the Chuckle Brothers could be heard walking past in the corridor, she added.

'She did not want it, she did not ask for it, she did not consent to it,' Ms Moore said.

The alleged victim reported the incident to a stage manager but it was decided she would not go to the police because Travis was a 'star', the prosecutor said.

'She was a junior member of a team and there was thought that she may lose her job,' Ms Moore went on.

The theatre allegedly later decided that female workers should not be left alone with Travis during the show's run.

Travis denied assaulting the woman, describing the allegation as 'utter nonsense' and telling police he would not have 'jeopardised' his first pantomime role.

Travis allegedly assaulted a student at Nottingham Polytechnic in an incident in 1983 or 1984, the court heard.

He asked the young woman to guard his camper van at the university, where he was appearing as a DJ, the jury was told.

Another two women were inside the van and appeared 'intoxicated', Ms Moore said.

Travis came out of the van where the student was standing and grabbed her left breast, before saying 'securi-titty', the prosecutor claimed.

He later kissed the student and tried to put his tongue in her mouth before the young woman ran off, she added.

'She was scared,' Ms Moore said. 'She felt stupid and humiliated.' Travis denied the assault in an interview with police.

During an appearance on Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4 in the early 1980s, Travis grabbed one alleged victim's breast which he 'moved up and down', Ms Moore said.

He later told police the incident had not taken place and it was a 'story' to 'sell newspapers', the prosecutor added.

Ms Moore said that a number of alleged offences related to Travis' career as a DJ at Chiltern FM after he left the BBC in 1993.

Jurors heard that 'from the moment he started' at the station around a decade ago, he would molest colleagues 'on a regular basis'.

One journalist at the station said she did not react as he felt her breasts 'because I was terrified'.

But on another occasion, the court was told, the alleged victim 'went ballistic' and shouted out, 'Don't touch me, you are a pervert!'

Another woman who worked in the same building allegedly described the DJ as 'very tactile' and said a colleague called him 'gross' after seeing him blow a raspberry on her cheek and wrap his arms around her.

The most recent assault is said to have taken place in 2008, when a newspaper reporter visited Travis at his home.

The women saw 'an amateurish bikini shot of Jo from S Club 7 on her knees', according to Ms Moore.

The DJ said he was an amateur photographer and asked the reporter to pose for him, but she declined and joked that her breasts were not large enough.

'He touched her breasts for about two to three seconds', said Ms Moore. 'She felt he was judging whether her breasts were big enough.'

The reporter later 'put the experience down to a dirty old man trying his luck on a young girl', the court heard.

In a police interview, Travis denied the woman's claim, saying: 'I don't need to grab anybody's breasts.'

The jury was also told about an alleged incident involving Travis at the opening of a hospital radio station, which is not included in the charges against him.

During a tour of the hospital, Travis put his hand in the skirt of a young woman crowned 'deputy carnival princess' before touching her breast, Ms Moore said.

'She thought he was a big name, and what Dave wanted was what Dave got,' the lawyer added.

During the prosecutor's opening statement, she showed jurors a photograph of Travis sitting next to Jimmy Savile at a 1980 Christmas dinner.

The DJ was arrested under Operation Yewtree, the Metropolitan Police investigation set up in the wake of the Savile scandal.

Other celebrities facing trial over allegations of historic sex offences under Yewtree include publicist Max Clifford and entertainer Rolf Harris.

Travis was arrested under a strand of the operation which is investigating allegations with no connection to Savile.

At a pre-trial hearing yesterday, 40 potential jurors were asked if they had any links to the BBC, Chiltern Radio, Classic Gold FM or Operation Yewtree.

Judge Anthony Leonard warned them not to research the case despite the defendant's high profile amongst the public.

'You will try the case on the information obtained here in this court and nothing else,' the judge said.

Travis began his DJ career with the pirate station Radio Caroline, before joining Radio 1 in 1967 - staying at the station for the next 26 years.

He also regularly appeared on TV throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including as a presenter on Top of the Pops.

The trial continues, and is expected to last up to six weeks.

[Teddy Bear]

You get an idea from reading the statements of the alleged victims just what they perceived would be the reaction from BBC bosses if they told them what happened.
They also confirm that this kind of abuse was common knowledge at the BBC.

Judging by the number of ex-celebrities accused of sexual abuse in the last year following the Savile scandal, I can well believe it was commonplace.
Once you knew others were getting away with it, if you felt you were an up and coming star, you could try it on yourself.

Dave Lee Travis 'grabbed Radio 4 presenter's breasts live on air'
Broadcaster accuses former Radio 1 DJ of coming into her studio assaulting her as she introduced Women's Hour, court hears

Dave Lee Travis let himself into a BBC Radio 4 studio and grabbed the breasts of a young announcer as she introduced Woman’s Hour live on air, a court heard today.

The woman said she felt “panic” as the former Radio 1 DJ allegedly assaulted her for about 10 seconds, and would have “screamed” at him if she had not been broadcasting to the nation at the time.
However, she did not report the incident to BBC management because she was only on probation at the time and feared that they would have told her: “So what? You're a big girl, deal with it.”

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told London’s Southwark Crown Court that she thought that the veteran DJ intended it as a “prank” rather than a sexual attack and thought it was funny.

Travis, 68, is accused of assaulting young women over 32 years, including during a recording of Top of the Pops, at a theatre while he was acting in pantomime, and at a Showaddywaddy concert.

The first of his alleged victims to give evidence to his trial said she was a 26-year-old Radio 4 continuity announcer when he assaulted her in the early 1980s.
She told the court that Travis walked into her studio as she was about to go on air and sat down behind her before grabbing her.
“His hands came round under my arm pits and he put one hand on each breast. He started to move my breasts up and down,” she said.
The woman said Travis held her breasts throughout her announcement, which lasted about 10 seconds.

Asked how she felt at the time, she replied: "Well I imagine there was a feeling of sort of panic. Radio 4 is a very serious network. I was making a serious announcement. I was just frightened I was going to mess up the announcement."
The woman said her behaviour would "not have been very lady-like" if she had not been on air, adding: "I'm sure I would have screamed at him to get off me, probably with a few choice words.”

The alleged victim said Travis sat down after the incident "as if nothing had happened".
Explaining why she did not make a complaint to Radio 4 managers, she told the court: "I was on probation as an announcer. There was no way I was going to start telling off this big star of Radio 1.

"If I had gone to the management, I imagine it would have been, 'So what? You're a big girl, deal with it.'”
During cross-examination, Stephen Vullo, defending Travis, said the former Radio 1 DJ denied having any knowledge of the incident.
The woman agreed with Mr Vullo that she considered the assault a "puerile joke" at the time, adding: "I don't believe it was intended as a sexual assault. I believe it was intended as a stupid joke."

She told the jury that other Radio 1 DJs, including the late John Peel, would also enter the studio during Radio 4 announcements but it was never reported to management.
The woman also said she had often recounted the alleged incident involving Travis when talking at conferences years later to warn women about the sexism they might encounter in the media.

A second alleged victim told the court that she felt “shocked and in denial” when she was assaulted by Travis on her first day working with him at local station Chiltern Radio.

She said: "He was in the studio, in the middle of a show, and my boss said, 'I will introduce you'. Obviously I knew exactly who he was.
"Dave Lee Travis got up and he came over, was introduced to me, and the first thing he did was kiss me on the cheek, put both arms around me like a bear hug, which did not feel right.
"He let go of one hand, and with the other started to rub the side of my body. He was touching my breast. He was holding my body."
The woman, who was in her late 20s at the time, said she knew when Travis was nearby because of his “strong, pungent” aftershave, which she recalled as being either Jazz or Fahrenheit.

“As soon as I smelt that, before I could even look around, his hands were on my shoulders,” she sad.
Asked why she did not say anything to Travis, she said: "I have asked myself that question a hundred times.
"I had the job of my dreams. I had worked very hard to get where I was. I was initially terrified no one would believe me."
However, the woman finally “snapped” when Travis allegedly put his hands up her skirt and tried to get his fingers inside her underwear.

She said a manager had to pull the pair apart after she kicked off, but that Travis had become very aggressive when she shouted out that he was a pervert.
The woman said senior managers "were aware" of Travis's behaviour, and that this incident led to him being banned from the office where she was working.
She told the jury that she had decided to speak up years later because she wanted her daughter to know how to fight against sexism.
"I felt that if she [the daughter] were to ever be in a situation like that, I needed to be able to tell her that this is what Mummy did. This has to be stopped for every woman,” she said.

Travis, from Mentmore, Bucks, was arrested under Scotland Yard's Operation Yewtree, which was prompted by abuse allegations involving the late Jimmy Savile, the jury has been told.

The DJ, whose real name is David Patrick Griffin, is charged with 13 counts of indecent assault between 1976 and 2003, and one count of sexual assault in 2008. He denies all the charges.
The trial continues.

[thehighlandrebel]

The paedophillia scandal at al-Beeb's ugly tentacles reaching north of the border.

[Teddy Bear]

Despite their claims that they felt the Mail headline was putting people off avoiding payment of the licence fee:
Threat to the TV licence as BBC reveals more watch programmes online fuelling fears thousands are legally dodging fee
It could also be seen that the Mail was making the public aware that they could legally avoid the payment, whilst avoiding being skewered for 'abetting' it.
Good anyway that more and more anti BBC blogs and such like are aiding the cause and getting people to think about BBC output.

A few things in the following article that explain just how people like Travis, Savile, Hall, etc., believe they can act with impunity, and more so within the BBC.

• Asked by prosecutor Miranda Moore QC why she did not complain to senior managers or police, the woman said: 'I was afraid that Mr Travis was a big star and I would be laughed out of town.
• She told the court: 'I asked what she wanted to do about it but felt nobody would really believe what happened. 'He was a big famous DJ, we were nothing. We decided to go home and say nothing.'

And as you will read below, even when his abuse was filmed on camera during a show, the crew simply edited the scene out of it. Shows just how the BBC 'dealt' with it, and with full awareness for many years.

'Dave Lee Travis fumbled up my skirt as he introduced a song by the Smurfs': Pop fan says she was groped by DJ at BBC studios

• Former Radio One DJ Dave Lee Travis faces 14 charges from 1976 to 2008
• Alleged victim tells court she was molested during Top of the Pops
• Claims Travis asked her to stand next to him then put his hand up her skirt
• Her friend says she regarded the DJ as a 'hairy monster'
• Another woman tells jury Travis assaulted her while checking in to hotel

By Hugo Gye

Dave Lee Travis put his hand up a girl's skirt for a 'fumble' while he was presenting an episode of Top of the Pops, a court heard today.

A woman told Southwark Crown Court that the former Radio 1 DJ indecently assaulted her at the BBC studios in 1978, when she was 17.

The incident, which occurred when Travis was introducing a performance by the Smurfs, was recorded by TV cameras but edited out before the episode was broadcast, the court was told.

A friend of the alleged victim said that she knew the DJ, now 68, as 'the hairy monster' and claimed that the prospect of physical contact with him was 'not a nice thought'.
Travis, from Buckinghamshire, has been charged with 13 counts of indecent assault and one of sexual assault dating between 1976 and 2008, all of which he denies.

One alleged victim told the court she was in the Top of the Pops audience wearing an off-the-shoulder top and a ra-ra skirt when she was called over by a member of the studio crew to be on television as Travis introduced the next band.

'He put his arm around myself and pulled me towards him. It was cosy on screen,' she said. 'Then he slipped his hand down and put it up my skirt. The skirt would have been lifted from the back.

'I can only really describe it as having a fumble of my bottom area. I think he was trying to get into my underwear.'

She said the incident took place in the Shepherd's Bush studio as Travis introduced the next band, the Smurfs, adding that the presenter was 'one of the biggest names on Radio One' at the time.
The witness said the footage cut just as she began to 'grimace' - evidence, she said, that she was being assaulted by the presenter.

'That's why I couldn't comprehend what was going on,' she said. 'I felt really uncomfortable. I think I just stood there.'

She added: 'I felt violated. The main thing is the camera crew was there, in front of all these people - that's what made it uncomfortable.'

The woman said she only went to the police after Travis's name had appeared in press reports in connection with a number of celebrity sex scandals.

The witness said she believed the clip - shown before the jury - was edited out of the show by the BBC because of the alleged assault.

She also said that Travis specifically requested for her and her friend to appear in the shot.

Stephen Vullo, defending, said the witness appeared to be smiling in a still image, but she insisted that video footage showed she was 'not happy'.

A friend of the alleged victim who was with her on set said the BBC had 'shrunk' the footage of the introduction, which was originally 'a lot longer' than the broadcast.

She said the evening was 'marred' by the alleged assault, adding: 'It ruined the whole night. It ruined the whole memory, actually.'

The witness described how the pair agreed not to tell anyone about the incident.

She told the court: 'I asked what she wanted to do about it but felt nobody would really believe what happened.

'He was a big famous DJ, we were nothing. We decided to go home and say nothing.'

She said she knew Travis as 'the hairy monster', adding: 'The thought of him giving me a kiss or a cuddle was not a nice thought.'


Travis assaulted me at hotel when I helped him check in, says alleged victim

A teenage hotel worker at a coastal beauty spot told the court she was 'horrified' when Travis allegedly indecently assaulted her as she checked him into his room.

The woman said she felt 'awful' as Travis began fiddling with her blouse as they took a lift to his room.

Once inside, the veteran DJ - in the North Cornwall town of Bude as part of a Radio 1 concert - allegedly began to 'envelop' her with his arms, rubbing her lower back and bottom.

She said the alleged incident lasted '15, 20, 30 seconds, but it seemed to go on forever'.

Asked by prosecutor Miranda Moore QC why she did not complain to senior managers or police, the woman said: 'I was afraid that Mr Travis was a big star and I would be laughed out of town.

'I was a naive country girl.'

The witness, giving evidence behind a grey curtain to avoid seeing the defendant at Southwark Crown Court, said she was assaulted by the disc jockey at the hotel where she worked in the 1980s, aged 18 or 19.

The woman told the court Travis first started to meddle with her clothing as they shared a lift to his room, where she was to leave his bags.

She said: 'I had a bow on my blouse and he started to twiddle with the bow.

'I felt uncomfortable. I thought, "Something's wrong with my bow - this is awful." I felt that I was in trouble because my uniform wasn't up to standard.'

After being 'relieved' to reach the room, the woman said Travis instructed her to take his bag all the way into the room, by his bed.

She said: 'He then had his arms around me, and enveloped me and gave me a massive bear hug. I was horrified, I was held very firmly.

'He carried on hugging me. He started rubbing his hands up and down my top and lower back, and then on my bum. I was in utter shock. I just didn't know how to deal with it.'

The witness said Travis released his hands, prompting her to run to the ground floor, but she spent the rest of her shift in fear that Travis would confront her later.

She told the court: 'He approached the desk. He said, "Will I be having the pleasure of your company later on?"

'I didn't answer the question. I just thought something was terribly wrong.'

Yesterday the court hear that a 15-year-old farmer’s daughter thought Dave Lee Travis was going to rape her when he attacked her at a Showaddywaddy concert.

The DJ said ‘I love big boobs’ before pulling up her bra, ‘flicking’ her nipples and kissing her breasts in his motorhome at the gig in 1978, it was said.

Giving evidence from behind a curtain, the woman – who is now 51 – said: ‘He put his hand up my skirt, to my thigh. I was crying, I was shouting at him to stop. I thought he was going to rape me.

‘I was a naive 15-year-old. It was my first sexual experience. I lived on a farm and I didn’t have many social skills. I was star-struck, I was in awe of him.’

The trial continues.

[charmbrights]

Am I the only one who thinks that there is far too much of the time in the BBC's "news" broadcasts devoted to gloating over these court cases?

[steevo]

Nobody does tabloid journalism better than Brits

[thehighlandrebel]

Some would say not enough time Charm.

Remember the inordinate amount of headline time al -beeb spent on the 'plebgate' incident...day after day, week after week falsely insinuating guilt before any evidence was forthcoming.

I think that the bbc willfully and knowingly employing paedophiles is of far more importance to the British public and licence fee payer.

[Teddy Bear]

Been quite a few articles recently on testimony related to this trial but I wanted those that had reference more to what the BBC did or didn't do about it, as this one has.
An alleged victim of Dave Lee Travis said when she worked at the BBC in the mid-1970s 'it was common practice to have tongues down your throat, tongues in your ear, bums being squeezed'.

The woman, who claims the veteran DJ pinned her up against a wall and groped her while presenting his Radio 1 show, said she learned to deal with the 'unwanted attention' the longer she worked there.

She also told jurors at Southwark Crown Court that when she tried to complain about Travis' alleged behaviour, the corporation ignored her and 'slammed the door' in her face.
The woman, who was 17 when she worked at Broadcasting House, said she did not tell anyone about the alleged assault because she feared no one would believe her.

But when the accusations about Jimmy Savile were made public, she tried to make a complaint to the director general's office.

'They said we are not taking calls of this nature so I felt like the BBC had slammed the door in my face. I was surprised,' she said.

'To this day I haven't had so much as an acknowledgement, so much as an apology.'

The only thing that could make the BBC more corrupt is ignoring all that has been revealed already about them, and renewing their charter and access to the continued licence fee payments.

'It was common practice at the BBC to have tongues down your throat, bums being squeezed', woman 'groped by Dave Lee Travis when she was 17' tells court

• Alleged victim said she learned to deal with the 'unwanted attention'
• Told Southwark Crown Court the veteran DJ invited her into empty studio
• Claimed Travis 'attacked' her while a song was playing live on air
• Woman said she was 'too embarrassed' to tell anyone about the incident
• Tried to complain to BBC when Jimmy Savile accusations were made public
• Felt corporation had 'slammed door' in her face when she made accusation

By Wills Robinson

An alleged victim of Dave Lee Travis said when she worked at the BBC in the mid-1970s 'it was common practice to have tongues down your throat, tongues in your ear, bums being squeezed'.

The woman, who claims the veteran DJ pinned her up against a wall and groped her while presenting his Radio 1 show, said she learned to deal with the 'unwanted attention' the longer she worked there.

She also told jurors at Southwark Crown Court that when she tried to complain about Travis' alleged behaviour, the corporation ignored her and 'slammed the door' in her face.

'During that time I just got on with it. You had to get on with it,' she said.

'There wasn't anybody to talk to about it.

'The more time I spent at the BBC the more I realised it was common practice to have tongues down your throat, tongues in your ear, bums being squeezed.

'Even when I was in (another department at the BBC) it was like that but I was a bit more forewarned and a bit more forearmed and a bit more mature.'

The woman, who was 17 when she worked at Broadcasting House, said she did not tell anyone about the alleged assault because she feared no one would believe her.

But when the accusations about Jimmy Savile were made public, she tried to make a complaint to the director general's office.

'They said we are not taking calls of this nature so I felt like the BBC had slammed the door in my face. I was surprised,' she said.

'To this day I haven't had so much as an acknowledgement, so much as an apology.'

Giving evidence from behind a screen, the woman told the jury Travis, now 68, held her up against a wall while his drivetime show was live on air.

She described to the court how he invited her into his empty studio while a song was playing.

Once inside, Travis allegedly put his finger to his lips and said 'shh' before turning the lights off.

Jurors heard how he then held the woman close in a slow dance, became aroused and then assaulted her.

She managed to pull away from him but he turned the microphone on air, pinned her against the wall and groped her, she claims.

The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said when the studio's red light came on, she felt 'trapped' as it meant they were live on air.

Travis, gave a loud sigh from the dock as the woman described the moment the DJ 'caught my eye' as she stood outside the door.

He then allegedly asked if she wanted to choose the next track on his drivetime show.

The woman, who had a clerical role in the BBC, said she had been 'star-struck' by the broadcaster when she saw him in the studios and had twice taken a lift in his car, which he described as 'my big yellow banana'.

She told jurors that after he turned the lights out, so that the technical operator in the adjoining studio could not see, he played a 'smoochy song' on the national radio station and put his arms out for her to dance with him.

The woman, who recalled he smelled of cigars and remembered the feel of his woolly jumper against her skin, said she felt 'confused' as Travis held her close as they danced.

'I was struck dumb a bit, I just didn't expect it,' she said. I wasn't sure what to do.

'He then made as if to dance. He put his arms as if to dance. It was a slow, smoochy song and I sort of danced with him for a little while.

'He'd been pressing himself against me and I was horrified,' she said.

'It was the red light that you are live on air. You can't open the door - you can't go in or out.

'I stopped still in my tracks, I was frightened by then because I wanted to get out. I didn't know what was coming next.'

'I didn't actually know what it was. It seems stupid but I was still a virgin.Then within seconds I just worked it out and I was horrified and I pulled away.'

The terrified teen realised she could reach the door handle from where she was and made her escape.

She said she saw a technical operator for the show in the adjoining room and told him: 'You won't believe what he's just done.'

The woman said the man replied: 'I thought you were a bit brave going in there.'

She said that as a result of his reaction and because she thought people might not believe her story she 'didn't tell a soul' about what had happened.

'These DJs were big, big stars,' she told jurors.

'They were like pop stars. There would be crowds of people hanging around outside the building to see them.

'They were like demi-gods.'

The woman, who thought the alleged incident took place in the 1970s and said she called the director general's office at the BBC to complain about Travis after the Savile allegations came out.

She said that after being told they were not dealing with such calls, she went to police and was also interviewed by the Daily Mail.

The alleged victim, who was in her first job after taking her O-levels, said that after rushing out of the studios, she 'completely left the building'.

'My heart was banging, I felt sick. It was the first time I'd ever been touched like that in my life," she told jurors.I felt violated, I felt interfered with.'

She also said she felt 'naive' and because of the technical operator's reaction, 'people would say "you asked for it going in there'".

Under cross examination by Stephen Vullo, defending, she was asked if she was lying and made the complaint because she was looking for money.

He said: 'I'm suggesting that you are telling a pack of lies.'

But she said she was looking for 'justice'. Adding: 'I would like to have closure.'

The court heard that in 2009, she threatened to kill her former business partner and cut her across the stomach with a bread knife.

In the same year, she attended her co-worker's address armed with a blade 'with the intention of slashing her tyres', after they became embroiled in a bitter dispute, jurors heard.

She was handed a suspended sentence at Lewes Crown Court after pleading guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, possessing a knife, threatening behaviour and harassment.

The woman conceded it was a 'very difficult time emotionally' and that she struggled with alcohol issues and depression.

'I didn't do it but I pleaded guilty', she said.

'It was a minute break of her skin with a bread knife.'

But she was jailed at Lewes Crown Court in August 2010 for breaching a restraining order banning her from contacting her ex-colleague in April and May of the same year.

'I was beside myself with remorse and just desperately wanted to apologise, that's all I ever wanted.

'I paid the price for trying to put things right from a personal point of view.'

She said she had known her business partner for many years, adding: 'There was a lot of history and a lot of love.'

The woman was released around a month later in September and was on probation until 2011.

Earlier jurors heard from another witness, who described Travis as a 'sleazeball'.

The woman, whose friend previously told the court that the former Top Of The Pops presenter groped her during a car journey, told jurors that she saw the incident take place as she was sitting next to her on the backseat at the time.

The witness said they both tried to push Travis off and she told him: 'Get off my friend.'

She said the incident, following a corporate event that Travis had been the DJ at in the early 1980s, left them both furious'.

Travis, is charged with 13 counts of indecent assault dating back to 1973 and as recently as 2003. He is also accused of sexual assault in 2008.

He denies all the charges. The trial continues.

[Teddy Bear]

In statements Travis has made to police, I don't think he's realised just how contradictory they are. It's like he's trying so hard to be a super straight and honourable fellow in his stories, he doesn't see where it ceases to make sense.
Like for example this:The DJ said in an interview with officers that for men to touch girls' breasts was considered the 'norm' in the 1970s and would be dismissed as 'a bit flirtatious', jurors were told.
With this: 'He said if he had touched someone's breasts he would admit it as it was considered to be a bit flirtatious at the time and no-one thought that much about it,' the court was told. 'He said the allegations did not happen. If any of it had been true he would apologise and accept that this was the norm in that period.

Along with this: Dave Lee Travis told police he knew that Jimmy Savile 'liked young girls' and thought 'Good luck to him', a court heard today.

So it's 'I didn't do it, but if I would have done it then it was the norm at the time, but I want you to believe that I didn't follow the norm, not that I thought anything was wrong with it as I knew Savile did and I just thought good luck to him'.

And there's this: 'He said the allegations did not happen. If any of it had been true he would apologise and accept that this was the norm in that period.

'He said his reputation was everything to him - if it had happened he would happily own up.'

Notice his made 'his reputation' okay whatever turns out to be the verdict - either he was following the norm, or not guilty of groping these women. But just what does he think it means to say 'my reputation is everything to me so if it happened I would admit it'. How does that work?

Dave Lee Travis said he 'knew Savile liked young girls and thought good luck to him'

• DJ says he knew Jimmy Savile was attracted to 'young girls' but did not know the star's targets were underage
• Insists he would have reported his BBC colleague if he had known
• Denies groping women in 1970s but says such behaviour was 'the norm'
• Claims women who accuse him of assault wanted to sell their stories

By Hugo Gye

Dave Lee Travis told police he knew that Jimmy Savile 'liked young girls' and thought 'Good luck to him', a court heard today.

The DJ said in an interview with officers that for men to touch girls' breasts was considered the 'norm' in the 1970s and would be dismissed as 'a bit flirtatious', jurors were told.

However, Travis insisted that he had no idea Savile was a paedophile, and said he would have reported him to the police if he had known.

The 68-year-old is on trial at Southwark Crown Court accused of 13 counts of indecent assault and one of sexual assault dating between 1976 and 2008. He denies all the charges.

Jurors today heard extracts from police interviews conducted with Travis after his initial arrest in November 2012, read out by junior prosecutor Teresa Hay.

The former Top of the Pops presenter denied groping any women, but added that such behaviour was the 'norm' at the time of the allegations.

'He said if he had touched someone's breasts he would admit it as it was considered to be a bit flirtatious at the time and no-one thought that much about it,' the court was told.

'He said the allegations did not happen. If any of it had been true he would apologise and accept that this was the norm in that period.

'He said his reputation was everything to him - if it had happened he would happily own up.'

Asked about his relationship with Savile, who abused hundreds of underage victims but was never caught during his lifetime, Travis said he knew him as a colleague but not as a close friend.

'Like most people at the BBC I did not know him,' the defendant told police.

Ms Hay said: 'He described Jimmy as having a "verbal wall". No-one got any sense out of him. He felt like he could not get through.

'He said he knew he liked young girls but, when all of this came out, most of them sat back in horror. He said he thought, "Good luck to him."'

However, Travis told officers he did not know Savile was targeting girls who were under the age of consent, and 'would have reported him if he'd known he had been a paedophile', adding that he was 'genuinely shocked at the allegations'.

Jurors heard that the DJ thought the 'degrading' allegations against him arose because his celebrity status made him 'fair game' in the eyes of his accusers.

'He was in the firing line and anyone could take a shot,' Ms Hay said. 'He said he was no angel but he thought it was just not on.'

The court heard he told officers he thought it 'incredible that people were coming out of the woodwork' after 40 years, and said he expected it was because they wanted to sell their stories due to the 'money grabbing culture'.

Referring to evidence from a woman who said Travis attacked her in a BBC studio while presenting his Radio 1 show, jurors were told: 'He said the allegation was unbelievable and he was shocked that people in his industry were such targets.

'He said he would have had to be a moron to do anything in the studio when people could see in from outside.'

Asked by officers about the similarities between some of the women's accounts, the defendant said: 'Two people who are not connected are both telling porkies.'

The court heard he described allegations that he groped a teenage girl in the audience of Top Of The Pops in 1978 as 'ridiculous and stupid'.

'There were cameras on him from all angles and the show goes out to 20million people,' Ms Hay said.

Travis, who said he had been 'happily married' since 1971, described himself as a 'tactile' person who would kiss and hug men and women when meeting them, but said he would never grope them.

He 'understood the line between being naturally huggy and making people feel uncomfortable,' Ms Hay said.

'He accepted that he had opportunities but if you live in a sweet shop you do not eat the sweets.'

Travis, who is on trial charged under his real name, David Patrick Griffin, listened to the evidence from the dock with the aid of headphones.

Jurors were told that, after initially being arrested and questioned on November 15, 2012, he was interviewed by police on three further occasions in March, August and September last year.

The court has previously heard evidence from a number of women who claim Travis assaulted them, include one who said he groped her at a Showaddywaddy concert when she was just 15 and another alleged victim who claimed she was groped in a theatre dressing room.

The trial continues.

[Teddy Bear]

The veteran DJ admitted that he is a 'tactile' person who frequently hugs and kisses other people, and suggested that his behaviour might have been 'misconstrued' by his alleged victims.

By the sound of most of his accusers, his 'hugs' and kisses, uninvited, are what they term assault - and I would agree with them.

He said: 'If I like someone I will hug them and give them a kiss because the whole world needs that.'

'Perhaps hugging is something which can be misconstrued by some people or if people are looking for an excuse they can say, "He touched us." I did hug a lot of girls.

I'm certainly from a time such as he describes, and there's no excuse for what he did. He just knew in the 'BBC celebrity world he inhabited' he could get away with it.

Dave Lee Travis says he loves women and their 'fabulous shapes' as he takes to the stand to claim 'hugs can be misconstrued' over sex allegations

• Former Radio 1 DJ is accused of 14 counts of assault over three decades
• Denies being a 'predator' and says his habit of hugging and kissing other people might have been misinterpreted
• Says he takes pictures of women because he admires their figures
• Court hears the presenters has wept in his sleep over the allegations
• Suggests his accusers are hoping to make money from their claims
• Journalist tells the court Travis groped her while playing computer game

By Hugo Gye

Dave Lee Travis today said he loves women's 'fabulous shapes' but insisted he was not 'predatory' as he took to the stand in his assault trial.

The veteran DJ admitted that he is a 'tactile' person who frequently hugs and kisses other people, and suggested that his behaviour might have been 'misconstrued' by his alleged victims.

The 68-year-old also told Southwark Crown Court that Jimmy Savile was 'always surrounded' with teenage girls but insisted he had no idea the star was a paedophile.

Travis, from Buckinghamshire, denies 13 counts of indecent assault and one of sexual assault dating between 1976 and 2008.

As he took the stand today, the former Top of the Pops presenter described claims that he was a sexual predator as 'nonsensical' but admitted he was 'tactile'.

He said: 'If I like someone I will hug them and give them a kiss because the whole world needs that.'

'Perhaps hugging is something which can be misconstrued by some people or if people are looking for an excuse they can say, "He touched us." I did hug a lot of girls.

'I do not have a predatory nature with women, I have a cuddly nature. Maybe that's what this is all about, but I am not predatory.

'If I really like somebody I will put my arm around them and I might give them a peck on the cheek, I even do that with men, to make them feel comfortable and welcome to the place.

'But nowadays you are not allowed to do that, put your arms around people and hug them.'

Questioned about his hobby of taking photographs of women, including some nudes, Travis insisted they were not 'tacky' and denied using photoshoots as an opportunity to 'prey' on women.

'Women just have such fabulous shapes and I wanted to utilise those shapes,' he said. 'I like women not because they are sexy but for a variety of reasons.

'Just think about me standing in front of the camera with my shirt off. Just think, would you rather have me or one of the ladies in my book?'

He denied that he thought he had a right to touch people because he was famous, telling the court: 'There are no unimportant people. I would never, never treat anybody as if they were under me or less than me.

'In my career I have met princesses, I have met the Queen, I have met the dustman - they are all the same to me. I just like people.'

Asked whether Radio 1 bosses allowed him free rein because he was a 'very very big star', Travis replied: 'Radio 1 had quite a few big names at the time. When you think about it there were probably only about a dozen of us in the country, DJs in that position.

'So yes, it was an important position it gave you but you could not do what you want with the BBC.'

When asked about his relationship with Savile, who after his death was unmasked as one of the worst sexual predators in British history, Travis said he rarely talked to his fellow DJ and did not have his phone number.

'I, like other people, did think, "He seems to like young girls,"' the defendant said. 'He was always surrounded by girls and by that I mean girls of 16, 17, 18.

'But I don't think that anyone knew what was going on as far as him being a paedophile.

'In all honesty, if I had known that Jimmy Savile was a paedophile I would have been the first to get him arrested because it is the worst crime in the world as far as I am concerned.'

Travis, whose real name is David Patrick Griffin, told the show about his career as a rising star in radio who went on to take over the Radio 1 Breakfast Show in 1978 and present more than 100 episodes of Top of the Pops.

Travis said before his arrest in November 2012 he had never been arrested for anything, and had he had no police cautions or convictions.

Speaking about what it was like to work at Radio 1 in the late 60s and early 70s he said: 'It was the golden years on Radio 1, I think it was true to say at that particular station, as opposed to Radios 2, 3 and 4.

'We had so much fun. Everyone was popping in and seeing other people in that office we were talking about this and that. It was a really fun atmosphere.'

Asked by his defence barrister Stephen Vullo if pranks played at Radio 1 were 'part of the fun' Travis responded, 'Oh yes, yes,yes.'

He recalled a time when he was setting a needle on a record when David Hamilton had walked in. 'He said, "I don't like this record," and he lifted the needle. Oh my heart jumped,' Travis told the jury.

'From what I recall he had arranged it with an engineer to be playing a tape of the record at exactly the same time to freak me out.'

In another example of pranks at Radio 1, Travis told the court how he had set fire to the script held by the late Alan Freeman while he was reading out the Top 40 on air.

'He held it burning and continued professionally. He didn't sue me for burnt fingers,' Travis told the court.
Travis 'cried at night' over sex allegations which emerged as his wife fought breast cancer

Dave Lee Travis cried himself to sleep after being accused of assaulting women and said the allegations had ruined his life and career, a court heard today.

The veteran DJ claimed he had been 'screwed backwards' by the claims, telling police his wife Marianne was ill with breast cancer at the time they emerged.

He also said he had been forced to sell his home to fight the allegations, which he said had been made up by his accusers in a bid to 'make money'.

Today jurors heard extracts from a police interview with Travis on September 18 last year, 10 months after he was first arrested.

'Mr Travis said that for 10 months he had lost his money, work, his health, he has had back and knee operations and had suffered stress,' said junior prosecutor Teresa Hay.

'Worse still, his wife had suffered breast cancer. She was through it now but stress is bad for someone who is going through that.

'This was costing him his job, his living and everything he has built up over 50 years. For him these allegations don't stand up. He and his wife had suffered badly.'

He said his accuser was 'out to make money' and asked: 'Why wait 20 years until it comes out in one-sided press coverage?'

'This is just someone else who can smell money and is jumping into the game to see what they can get out of it,' he told police.

Ms Hay said Travis told police that 'he has been screwed backwards - he is selling his house to pay for solicitors and barristers.

'People might think he is a millionaire but his bank account is non-existent.

'His life has changed for the worse and he is full of anger. Even if he is acquitted he still won't be free. He has cried at night.'

The jury heard that Travis was questioned in relation to allegations that he groped a woman while dancing the Lambada at two British Airways parties in the early 1990s.

He told police he would provide musical entertainment at such parties, often wearing fancy dress, but could not remember those events in particular.

Asked about claims that he had told the woman she had 'won the keys to his room', he claimed it was not the type of thing he would say.

He went on: 'It is just because she saw a picture of me in the paper next to Jimmy Savile. It is nonsense.'

Travis also told police that he had 'great sympathy' with rape victims and had been involved in attempts to stop it in his work for children's charities.

'But he didn't see the similarity between this and grabbing a girl's bum in a dance,' Ms Hay said.

The court has previously heard claims that Travis molested a teenager at a Showaddywaddy concert and assaulted a woman in the BBC studio while broadcasting his Radio 1 show.

He is also accused of attacking a theatre worker in his dressing room while appearing in panto, stopping only when one of the Chuckle Brothers walked past.
Travis 'groped journalist after inviting her to play on flight simulator during interview at his house'

Dave Lee Travis groped a journalist's bottom while they were playing a flight simulator game on his computer, a court heard today.

The German woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was visiting his home in Buckinghamshire to interview him about Beat Club, a TV show which he once presented.

She told jurors she was 'embarrassed and taken aback' by the DJ's 'sleazy' behaviour during the alleged incident in August 2005, which followed a 90-minute interview.

Travis invited the woman to play his favourite game and stood behind her as she began to play, the court heard.

'That's when he put his hand on a shoulder, ran it down my back and rested it on the left cheek of my bum,' she said. 'It was an extremely uncomfortable moment.

'I was completely taken aback, it was just unexpected. I felt it was sleazy, there was absolutely no option for me than to move.

'I was rather embarrassed and I was embarrassed for him about this kind of behaviour, it was just so inappropriate.'

The reporter said that after the incident she 'pretended it didn't happen', while Travis appeared 'sheepish'.

She asked Travis to give her a lift to the local train station, where she took a photograph of the pair together.

'I did feel it was a really embarrassing situation and it was, I guess an attempt to make light of the situation,' the woman told the court.

She said that the DJ 'pulled her towards him and we ended up standing cheek to cheek', adding: 'That's not the photograph I wanted.

'I have interviewed many, many famous people in my journalistic career and most of the time they are pleasant people.

'My only explanation was that he must have felt really sheepish about what happened.

'I think the situation was so awkward, it was obvious this elderly gentleman who I had never heard of before completely crossed the line. It must have been embarrassing for him.'

The alleged victim confided in her partner but did not complain about the incident, saying 'it would have been very difficult' to lodge an official complaint.

'For me the situation was so embarrassing, it was so strange, I didn't feel I wanted to complain to someone,' she said. 'I sometimes thought in retrospect it would have been the smarter or braver thing to do at the time.'

She eventually came forward after hearing of Travis' arrest in November 2012.

The trial continues.

[Teddy Bear]

Having seen this clip of Savile abusing a girl in the audience before the cameraman realised what he was doing and panned away, it's a fair assumption that had the show not been live the scene would have been edited out completely. It's clear from this, and the multitude within the BBC that knew of the ongoing abuse perpetrated by Savile but looked the other way, that this is how the BBC regarded these 'goings-on'.

Now Travis wants us to believe that he never groped a girl in front of the camera that was subsequently edited out. His defence is that if he would have asked for it it would have created too much of an upheaval. Fact is, he wouldn't have had to ask for it, the BBC did it on their own.
Especially as he acknowledges the 'hugs and kisses' were commonplace in those times.

He also claims the women who have come forward to accuse him have only done it to get money for selling their story. So why should all these women, who didn't know each other, have picked on him? Considering the names of those BBC 'celebrities' that have faced similar accusations following Operation Yewtree, when one considers how many celebrities there have been over the years, why these select few?

Like the VILE in Savile, we have the TRAVESTY in Travis.

'You can't mess with the BBC': Dave Lee Travis denies pinching girl's bottom on Top of the Pops and getting staff to edit footage

• Dave Lee Travis accused of groping teenage girl on Top Of The Pops
• Woman's friend later accused producers of editing out the footage
• Travis branded the allegation 'insane' and said his career would have been killed 'stone dead' if he had done it
• Veteran DJ denies 13 indecent assaults and one sexual assault

By James Rush

Veteran DJ Dave Lee Travis has denied claims he asked BBC staff to edit out footage of him groping a teenage girl on Top Of The Pops, telling jurors: 'You can't mess with something like the BBC'.

The former BBC star had earlier been accused of pinching the bottom of the girl as he introduced a song by The Smurfs as the cameras rolled.

The woman’s friend later accused producers of editing out the incriminating footage.

But Travis, 68, today told Southwark Crown Court his career would have been killed 'stone dead' if he had asked for the footage - shot in the late 1970s - to be cut.

He said: 'That wouldn’t happen. I do not have the power you see here.

'I’m probably the lowest of the low as far as the production team and bosses are concerned. We were just the DJs to them. We couldn’t ask for anything. Anything.'

He was asked by his defence barrister, Stephen Vullo, who he would have to ask for the clip to be edited.

He said he would have to ask the top editors and producers at Top Of The Pops to edit out the sequence.

Travis told jurors: 'It is difficult for me to answer that, no such thing happened.

'I would have to go to the man at the very top of the BBC, somebody like John Birt. It is such a ridiculous thing to ask, nobody would do that. It’s the BBC for goodness sake.'

Asked what the effect would be on his career, Travis said: 'It would have killed it stone dead.

'So many would have been involved in that, you just can’t play around with these people. You can’t mess with something like the BBC - its simply not done.'

He branded the allegation 'insane' and said he would never have groped anyone while the cameras were rolling and with the audience in full view.

Travis said: 'That is a completely insane claim, and it’s especially insane as I’ve seen the video.'

He rubbished claims he had groped a girl, adding: 'We are surrounded by the audience and cameras and people. That’s not good for my career.

'If I had been caught doing that in the Top Of The Pops studio I should have thought that the book would have been thrown at me and I would have been out of the BBC.'

He told jurors: 'I did not sexually attack, put my hands on these girls or anything like that at any time.'

Travis, who is on trial at London’s Southwark Crown Court accused of indecently assaulting 10 women and sexually assaulting another, denies all the offences against him.

When claims he molested a British Airways employee under the table and in front of company bosses at a work party were put to him, he retorted: 'Am I allowed to laugh? Because I’m sorry, it’s a situation which did not happen.'

Travis, from Buckinghamshire, denies 13 indecent assaults and one sexual assault, dating back to 1976 and the height of his career.

Appearing under his birth name David Griffin, the alleged offences occurred when he was working as a BBC DJ, as a broadcaster with Classic Gold radio, while appearing on Top Of The Pops and when starring in panto.

Travis, who chose to sit down to give his evidence, said he took his job seriously and that, even though working in showbusiness was fun, 'it is a business nevertheless'.

Wearing a maroon blazer, white shirt and patterned tie, he said he did not like being asked whether he had ever cheated on his wife, to whom he has been married since 1971.

But questioned further by Mr Vullo if he had ever 'fallen into temptation', Travis admitted he had 'once or twice'.

'Of course, I’m human,' he told the court. 'Consensual, if I might add.'

Travis asked jurors to 'think logically about it'.

He went on: 'If these women supposedly are chasing after me because I was the pop star of the day, the question would have to be, why would I go and assault somebody?

'I don’t like the idea of assaulting women in any way, shape or form.'

Asked about claims that he put his hand up a woman’s skirt in front of the organiser of a Norwich Union event he was working at, Travis said he 'should be committed somewhere' if that had happened because it would have been bad for business.

'And it didn’t, by the way,' he added.

The court heard that he was alleged to have indecently assaulted a woman who was working as a stage hand on a pantomime he featured in.

'This is what has been doing my head in about this case, it’s the numbers,' he told jurors.

'It’s because there are quite a few complaints against me that this is any way important to people.

'I hate this idea that there is no smoke without fire.

'I can only say what I know and the way I feel about things.

'If I had been caught doing that in the Top Of The Pops studio I should have thought that the book would have been thrown at me and I would have been out of the BBC'

- Dave Lee Travis

'If I had sexually assaulted this girl in my dressing room, I would fully expect her to go and tell her boss and the boss would tell the person running the panto and that would immediately get me in big trouble.'

He dismissed the idea that she would have decided not to complain because he was a celebrity.

'You are never too big in this industry, you can be knocked over very quickly and I don’t believe in taking risks with my business and I certainly don’t believe in attacking young girls,' he said.

Asked about his relationship with the Chuckle Brothers, who also featured in the pantomime, he said that they were 'all showbizzy friends'.

'They were the comedy duo and I was the butt of all their jokes,' he said.

Travis was asked about his interest in photography in relation to evidence heard about a picture he took of a female pop star in a bikini.

'I will not have them called sleazy,' he said.

He was also questioned about allegations that he grabbed the breasts of a female journalist who came to interview him at his house after asking if she would pose for photographs.

Mr Vullo asked if they were true.

'No, of course not,' he said.

'I’m not likely to get somebody to agree to do a photograph with me if I’m putting my hands all over them. It’s just not the way it works.'

He also denied claims heard yesterday that he groped another journalist.

'After this I will never have an interview with a female again without somebody else sitting there with me,' he said. 'It just breaks my heart.'

Travis was asked about allegations that he assaulted a teenager in his Radio 1 studio during a live broadcast but said he could not remember any such incident.

'This is just lies, out and out,' he said.

'I don’t have to recall that as it never happened.'

Asked if he could have got away with such behaviour while working at the BBC, Travis said: 'I keep saying this, Mr Vullo.

'Yes, my position was quite high up within the echelons of DJs but nobody is bigger than the station - ever.'

The trial was adjourned until 10.30am tomorrow, when Travis will continue to be questioned.

[Teddy Bear]

Some apples are rotten inside but you can't tell that until you bite into it. Some are rotten both outside and in and you can see that from a distance. Rot has so permeated the BBC that it's clear from a distance, on just about everything that the BBC is involved in.

Following DL Travis's conviction of sexual abuse, the BBC are facing questions as to why they ignored accusations for so long, and 'turned a blind eye' to obvious improprieties.

All the BBC have responded with so far is to say “The BBC is appalled by the crime Dave Lee Travis has been convicted of." The spokesman refused to comment further.

SCUM! I'm appalled that the public put up with this vile two-faced corrupt organisation.

BBC faces accusations that rumours about Dave Lee Travis's behaviour were ignored
Dave Lee Travis faces a possible jail sentence after being convicted of Operation Yewtree offence, but questions remain about why the BBC did not act to stop him sooner

By Martin Evans

The BBC has been accused of turning a blind eye to years of inappropriate and sexist behaviour by shamed DJ, Dave Lee Travis, who has become the latest celebrity convicted under Operation Yewtree.

The 69-year-old former Radio One Breakfast Show and Top of the Pops host, who worked for the Corporation for more than 30-years, was convicted of a vile indecent assault against a young television researcher in 1995 that left her deeply traumatised.

Travis was found guilty of groping the 22-year-old’s breasts as he prepared to appear on the hit BBC comedy, The Mrs Merton Show.
But while he was previously cleared of a string of similar attacks against women on BBC premises, the Corporation has still been accused of failing to act on widespread rumours that his behaviour was “predatory” and “opportunist”.

Such criticisms will only add to claims that the BBC was blind to abuse by some of its biggest names, after it was revealed that Jimmy Savile carried out scores of attacks against youngsters on Corporation premises.

Travis’s victim reported the attack at the time to her BBC producer boss, but the complaint was never pursued.

In another case a former BBC runner described how it was “common practice” at the BBC in the 1970s to have “tongues down your throat, tongues in your ear, bums being squeezed”.

The woman claimed the Corporation had even refused to listen to her complaints when she raised the matter in 2012, following the Jimmy Savile scandal.

She said when she contacted the BBC she was told the Director General's office was “not taking calls of this nature”.
But many alleged victims admitted they had not raised the matter with their bosses because they feared their careers would suffer if they complained about sexual harassment.

A BBC spokesman said last night: “The BBC is appalled by the crime Dave Lee Travis has been convicted of."
The spokesman refused to comment further.

Travis initially went on trial earlier this year charged with 14 indecent assaults dating back to the mid-1970s.

He was eventually cleared of 12 offences, but the jury was unable to reach verdicts on two counts and the Crown Prosecution Service later announced it would be pursuing a retrial.

It was at that point details of the attack on the Mrs Merton show became known and that charge was also added to the indictment.
After more than 19 hours of deliberations, the jury at Southwark Crown Court returned a verdict of guilty, leaving Travis facing a jail term when he is sentenced later this week.

He was found not guilty of another charge, while the jury were unable to reach a verdict on a third count and were discharged.

Travis now joins shamed PR guru Max Clifford and disgraced entertainer Rolf Harris as celebrities convicted of sex attacks as part of Operation Yewtree, the Met investigation launched in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.

Travis had always denied all the claims against him insisting his "cuddly" and "tactile" nature had been misconstrued.

But prosecutors successfully argued that he was a sexual opportunist who believed he had the “perfect right” to grope women.

Outlining the case against him, prosecutor Miranda Moore QC said: “The defendant, according to these ladies, simply seemed to act as if he had a perfect right to touch their breasts or put his hands in their clothing to grope them.

“We say that this defendant has a propensity towards laying his hands in a sexual manner on young women who are alone with him or in vulnerable positions. He is an opportunist.”

Wearing dark grey trousers and a light grey blazer, Travis stared straight ahead with a stony expression and held his hands in front of him as the verdicts were read out.

He glanced over his shoulder to his Swedish born wife, Marianne, who sat at the back of court, before sitting down.
Judge Anthony Leonard QC warned the former radio star that he was looking at "all options" when he considered his sentence.
Travis will be sentenced on Friday.