He said: “So let’s get down to brass tacks here – the first thing is I’ve been talking to the police about sexual... I can’t even remember what the word is now – in the old days it was called ‘putting your arm around somebody and giving them a cuddle’ but nowadays God knows.

“But anyway, I was accused of ‘squeezing the boobs of a couple of women’.

“So the point I want to make here is that none of the things I’ve been talking to the police about, or have talked to them about, is to do with children.

He continued: “I think that sometimes, you know, us guys who are a bit older, who are, shall we say, tactile, which is not a terrible thing to be, in the old days you put your arm around somebody and gave them a little kiss or a cuddle.

“Yeah, that’s fine. But nowadays, you know, you’d have to stop and think ‘Is this an assault?’

“Now, I’m not saying that I haven’t put my arms round people or anything like that, and I’m not saying that any of this is right or wrong at the moment, but I’m just trying to get the facts out.”

Police are looking at three strands within their inquiry: claims against Savile, those against Savile and others, and those against others.

Most of the allegations relating to “others” have been made against people associated with the entertainment industry, including ex-glam rocker Gary Glitter and comedian Freddie Starr.