31 rapes and 450 complaints - the mounting case against Jimmy Savile

Some 589 people have come forward with information relating to the scandal, with a total of 450 complaints against the BBC presenter and DJ himself, mainly alleging sexual abuse, Scotland Yard said.

Ten weeks since the launch of Operation Yewtree - looking at the claims against Savile - police said they have recorded 199 crimes in 17 force areas in which he is a suspect.

There are 31 allegations of rape recorded against Savile in seven force areas, Scotland Yard said.

So far Operation Yewtree detectives have detained seven suspects and helped in the arrest of three others elsewhere in the country, Scotland Yard said, adding: “More arrests nationally will be forthcoming.”

Former pop star Gary Glitter and a man in his 70s, reported to be former television producer Wilfred De’Ath - among those arrested as part of Operation Yewtree - were re-bailed by police today.

Glitter, 68, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was the first person to be detained, on October 28. He was questioned by officers and released on bail.

A man reported to be De’Ath, a former BBC employee who once produced a radio show presented by Savile, was arrested at his home in Cambridgeshire on November 11 and also bailed to return to police.

Earlier today, a Scotland Yard spokesman said: “Two men arrested in connection with Operation Yewtree - a man in his 60s and a man in his 70s - have been re-bailed to return on dates in February 2013.”

Other high-profile names to have been questioned include celebrity publicist Max Clifford, comedian Freddie Starr and DJ Dave Lee Travis.

Officers are looking at three strands within their inquiry: claims against Savile, those against Savile and others, and those against others, with the report covering the first of those strands.