Gary Glitter arrested as part of Jimmy Savile investigation

London - Gary Glitter has been arrested on suspicion of sexual offences by the police investigating the Jimmy Savile scandal. Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, is alleged to have raped a girl in Savile's BBC dressing room.

Glitter was arrested at his home and taken into custody, BBC News reports. The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that officers from Operation Yewtree, the Savile investigation, arrested a man in his sixties at 07.15 BST. He is being held at a north London police station. The dramatic arrest of Glitter is the first of announced series of expected arrests of "household names", as reported by Digital Journal on Friday. As previously reported by Digital Journal, Karin Ward has alleged that Glitter raped a girl in Jimmy Savile's dressing room, whilst Savile sexually assaulted another. Ms Ward says a third man attacked her. It has been suggested he was Freddie Starr, a claim strenuously denied by Mr Starr. Initially, Mr Starr denied he had appeared on Savile's television programme and claimed never to have met Ms Ward. He subsequently retracted those denials when video evidence showed him to have been on the show. The Sunday Telegraph reports that the Metropolitan Police have declined to say what prompted the arrest of Glitter. The police spokesperson would only say that the arrest was part of the strand of the investigation labelled "Savile and Others". Glitter has previous convictions for child pornography and child sexual assaults.