Jimmy Savile Victims' Compensation Limited to £60,000 a Head

Victims of paedophile pop presenter Jimmy Savile can claim no more than £60,000 for sexual abuse meted by the BBC star.

Around 140 victims can each claim a share of a £3m compensation pot from the BBC, the NHS and disgraced Savile's own estate.

Victims who were targeted by the sexual predator and are entitled to a pay-out must apply for the cash by the end of June, or miss out.

An advert appeared in various tabloid and broadsheet newspapers today (22 April).

The plan was hailed by Mr Justice Sales, who drew it up with interested parties. He called it a "sensible and pragmatic" solution for a "complex situation".

Solicitors representing Savile's alleged victims cautioned that the scheme would not guarantee payouts – only provides a framework within which claims can be scrutinised.

Savile abused vulnerable victims across three decades, up to and including the 1980s. The serial offender may have abused yet more vulnerable youngsters at children's homes and institutions, including children at a school for the blind, it emerged in March.

The government ordered fresh investigations into claims uncovered by the Metropolitan Police concerning 21 institutions across England.

Nearly 150 people were sexually abused by the entertainer who was allowed to continue for years, and who ultimately escaped arrest and trial.

Savile was exposed after he died in 2011. Only a few months later, he was revealed to be one of the UK's most prolific sexual offenders.