Savile Charities To Close

23 October 2012, 12:28 | Updated: 23 October 2012, 13:00

Two charities linked to Jimmy Savile, including one connected to Buckinghamshire's Stoke Mandeville Hospital, are going to close.

It follows dozens of claims of sexual abuse against the late TV presenter, who died in October 2011.

The Jimmy Savile Stoke Mandeville Hospital Trust and the Jimmy Savile Charitable Trust were considering changing their names, but they feel they will always be linked with Savile in the public's mind.

Funds raised by the charities will be distributed to other good causes.

"The trustees' primary concern is to protect the charitable causes that they support,'' said a statement issued on their behalf.

"They are concerned that the continued press attention into the two Savile charities is potentially damaging to the charitable beneficiaries and the vital work they do.

"The trustees have given much consideration to a possible change of name.

"However the trustees feel that, whatever new name they may adopt, the charities will always be linked in the public's mind with the late Jimmy Savile.

"The trustees cannot see a future for either charity.

"The trustees have, with great sadness, therefore decided to take steps to bring both charities to an end.''

The trustees would be talking to the charitable beneficiaries that they have committed to support as well as to the Charity Commission, to ensure that this was done in the most "sensitive and appropriate" way, they added.

"The trustees have already chosen how to distribute the funds in each charity and have decided not to publicly announce who the recipients will be,'' the statement continued.

"It will be for each charitable organisation to decide whether to publicise any donation received.''

A spokeswoman for the Jimmy Savile Charitable Trust said it received a large proportion of funds from donors other than Savile and was looking into supporting charities working with survivors of sexual abuse.