The BBC missed a string of opportunities over five decades to uncover and stop child sex abuse by Jimmy Savile and Stuart Hall.
In a withering attack, Dame Janet Smith said the corporation bred a culture of deference in which celebrities were “untouchable” and “King” Savile and Hall were able to hide in plain sight.
Her 1,220-page report found Savile “would gratify himself sexually on BBC premises whenever the opportunity arose” and staff missed numerous opportunities to stop him.
BBC director general Lord Hall said the findings represented a “dark chapter” in the broadcaster’s history and apologised to victims, saying: “The BBC failed you when it should have protected you.
“I’m deeply sorry for the hurt caused.”
Lawyers representing some of Savile’s victims branded the £6.5 million report an “expensive whitewash” after Dame Janet found senior figures at the BBC did not know about the abuse.
Dame Janet’s review found there was a culture of “reverence and fear” towards celebrities at the corporation and that “an atmosphere of fear still exists today in the BBC” which prevents some from blowing the whistle on inappropriate behaviour.
Dame Janet said: “Both of these men used their fame and positions as BBC celebrities to abuse the vulnerable.
“They must be condemned for their monstrous behaviour.
“But the culture at the BBC certainly enabled both Savile and Stuart Hall to go undetected for decades.
“I have identified five occasions where the BBC missed an opportunity to uncover their misconduct.”
BBC staff missed chances dating back to the late 1960s to stop Savile.
Girls who dared to complain about being sexually assaulted were regarded as “a nuisance” and their claims not properly dealt with.
Savile sexually assaulted two teenage girls in front of the cameras in the Top of the Pops studio on separate occasions in the 1960s and 1970s, but when the girls complained, they were brushed off and one was escorted out of the premises.
Dame Janet found that a number of BBC staff were aware of Savile’s offending, or had heard rumours, but she cleared the broadcaster as a corporate body of knowing about it.
Her report stated: “In summary, my conclusion is that certain junior and middle-ranking individuals were aware of Savile’s inappropriate sexual conduct in connection with his work for the BBC.
“However, I have found no evidence that the BBC, as a corporate body, was aware of Savile’s inappropriate sexual conduct in connection with his work for the BBC.”
Dame Janet said there was a culture of not reporting complaints at the BBC and a fear of saying anything that might “rock the boat”.
Dame Janet said she could not rule out the possibility that “a predatory child abuser could be lurking in the BBC even today”.
She added: “The power of celebrity and the trust we accord it, which show no real sign of diminishing in our society, make detection of a celebrity abuser even more difficult.”
Dame Janet’s report found that 117 people at the BBC heard rumours about Savile, but ruled the corporation as a corporate body was not told.
This sparked an angry backlash from some victims.
Liz Dux, a specialist abuse lawyer at Slater and Gordon Lawyers, who represents 168 victims, said: “All the Savile and Hall victims have ever wanted from this report is truth and accountability.
“Despite millions having been spent on the inquiry, my clients will feel let down that the truth has still not been unearthed and many will feel it is nothing more than an expensive whitewash.”
Dame Janet denied this accusation, saying: “It certainly isn’t a whitewash.
“It is right that 117 witnesses told the review they had heard rumours about Jimmy Savile, as a matter of fact 180 witnesses told me that they had not.
“I did find that a number of people at the BBC, junior people, did know about Savile.
“They knew from what they saw or realised and drew inferences in their own minds and realised what he was doing.
“They didn’t report these matters upwards.”
Lord Hall said the BBC bore responsibility for making Savile and Hall famous and the BBC “could have known” about their abuse.
He said: “Just as powerful as the accusation you knew is the legitimate question ‘How could you not have known?”’
He added: “Today let us be in no doubt we are hearing the worst, and it is a very sobering day. What happened was profoundly wrong, it should never have started, it should certainly have been stopped.”