Police said they had arrested a man in his 60s on suspicion of sexual offences, without naming him. The BBC and Sky News named him as Starr, who has previously denied claims that he groped one of Savile's alleged victims.

"The man, from Warwickshire (in central England), was arrested at approximately 17.45 hrs (GMT) on suspicion of sexual offences, and has been taken into police custody locally," police said in a statement.

"The individual falls under the strand of the investigation we have termed 'Savile and others'. We are not prepared to discuss further."

A woman who has publicly accused Savile of abusing her claimed Starr touched her when she was just 14 while they were both in a BBC dressing room in the 1970s, but the comedian denied this.

In a television interview last month, 69-year-old Starr branded Savile "despicable" and said he wanted to speak to police to clear his name.

"I would never, ever, ever touch an underage girl," he said. He urged police to contact him over what he described as "false accusations".