The number of people seeking compensation after complaining of being abused by television personality Jimmy Savile has risen to more than 200.
The figure emerged today as the UK’s Court of Appeal analysed the latest round of litigation relating to how money from Savile’s estate should be divided.
A spokesman for law firm Slater & Gordon, which is representing 169 alleged victims, said the total number of people making claims had gone up to 203.
Three appeal judges are considering a claim by a charity, which is the major beneficiary of Savile’s estate, at a hearing in London due to end tomorrow.
Lawyers representing the Jimmy Savile Charitable Trust said they had concerns about a compensation scheme agreed between the executor of Savile's estate - the NatWest bank - and lawyers representing alleged victims.
They told judges that some women were likely to make fraudulent claims about being sexually abused, and said compensation claims needed to be scrutinised.
Robert Ham QC, for the trust, said the compensation scheme agreed did not assess the “validity” of claimants and lacked a “process of evaluation”.
Earlier this year, a High Court judge had approved the compensation scheme despite objections from the trust.
Mr Justice Sales sanctioned the scheme following a High Court hearing in London in February.
He also refused to order the NatWest bank to be replaced as executor.
The trust wants the appeal court to overturn Mrs Justice Sales’ decisions.
Mr Justice Sales heard that Savile, who died in October 2011 aged 84, had been the subject of an ITV television programme broadcast in October 2012.
The judge said Savile, who worked at the BBC, had been accused of being a ”serial child abuser and sex offender’, and was alleged to have abused people in hospitals.
He said following the broadcast a ”large number” of people had come forward to make claims that they were abused by Savile.
The judge had described the compensation scheme as a ”sensible and pragmatic” attempt at solving a ”complex situation”.
He said the scheme would allow for ”sufficient objective scrutiny” of the merits of compensation claims.
Experts had initially put the value of Savile’s estate at around £4 million.
But Mr Justice Sales said a ”range of expenses” had been incurred and the estate’s value had been reduced to about £3.3 million.
Lawyer Liz Dux, who works at Slater & Gordon, tonight said she was disappointed that the trust had launched an appeal.
“By agreeing to the scheme our clients have sought to act in a way which will minimise legal costs so as to preserve as much of the estate as possible,” she said.
PA