There have been further developments in the Jimmy Savile abuse scandal. The former BBC presenter’s headstone has been removed and the BBC are expected to make an announcement today, regarding their own plans to launch an inquiry into the claims of rape and sexual abuse that have been made against him.

Sir Jimmy Savile’s gravestone was removed from a Scarborough cemetery last night. His family took the decision to have the headstone removed, aware of the weight of public feeling regarding the disgraced TV presenter, who died in October last year. A statement released on behalf of his family said “(We) are deeply aware of the impact that the stone remaining there could have on the dignity and sanctity of the cemetery… Out of respect to public opinion, to those who are buried there, and to those who tend their graves and visit there, we have decided to remove it.” The headstone was removed under cover of darkness last night. According to Sky News, the “elaborate” gravestone is being taken to a stonemason’s yard in Leeds. The inscription will be ground down and the stone will “be broken up and sent to landfill.”

The BBC, for whom Jimmy Savile worked for many years, is expected to announce today (October 10, 2012) that it is launching its own investigation “into its former star's conduct, its context and what lessons the corporation can learn from the torrent of revelations about him and claims about the wider culture at the corporation of the time,” The Guardian report today. It is expected that the investigation will not commence until the Metropolitan police have given them the “green light” so that their inquiries will not conflict in any way.