A Disgusted Britain Tries to Delete Memories of Savile

LONDON - The headstone of his grave has been removed, destroyed and buried at the request of his family. The Roman Catholic Church is considering whether to strip away his papal knighthood. And, on Monday, city councilors in the northern British seaside resort of Scarborough will consider deleting his name, at least temporarily, from the roll call of freemen of their city.

The latest indignities befalling the disgraced television host Jimmy Savile reflect a broad popular revulsion - coupled with an equally profound sense of betrayal - at the widening accusations that he abused underage girls and boys over decades, taking advantage of his position as a celebrity entertainer and philanthropist.

In recent weeks, London's Metropolitan Police has begun a criminal inquiry, saying the tally of Mr. Savile's accusers has risen dramatically from several dozen to around 300.

Mr. Savile - his title in Britain is still Sir Jimmy Savile since he was knighted by Que en Elizabeth II in 1990 - died in October, 2011, aged 84.

As my column in The International Herald Tribune tries to explain, he evaded scrutiny for decades in part through a British tradition of readiness to remain silent on topics deemed ‘‘inappropriate.''

In Scarborough, North Yorkshire, where Mr. Savile maintained a second residence and was buried last year close to his home town of Leeds, the deference has given way to disgust. His triple headstone overlooking the sea with the inscription ‘‘It Was Good While It Lasted'' has already been removed and dumped in a garbage landfill. Street signs bearing his name have been dismantled. Local officials are now moving to excise his name from the public memory, turning him almost into a non-person.

Councilor Tom Fox, who is leading the effort, said that if the city council in Scarborough had known of the accusations against him in 2005, when Mr. Savile was made a freeman of the city, his nomination woul d have been rejected.

Mr. Fox has proposed that Mr. Savile's name be deleted from the list of 20 groups and individuals, including the playwright Sir Alan Ayckbourn, who have been given the freedom of the city since 1974. The title is honorary, though historically it came with privileges including exemption from local tolls.

The deletion, Mr. Fox said, should be made ‘‘pending the final report of the Metropolitan Police, when this council will make a permanent decision.''

Some other institutions are already pressing for binding posthumous sanctions. The national children's charity has said it would support moves to remove Mr. Savile's knighthood. And the Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, who heads the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, has written to the Vatican asking whether a papal knighthood bestowed by Pope John Paul II in 1990 may also be rescinded.