Names and faces

LITTLE ROCK — Classified documents being made public Friday detail how BBC entertainer Jimmy Savile was comfortable at the heart of the British government during his heyday in the 1980s, lunching with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at her country home, sending her jokey thank-you notes and lobbying for tax breaks and contributions for his charitable works. The papers include a handwritten note from Savile to Thatcher in which he claims that his“girl patients” are pretending to be jealous because of the time he spent dining with the prime minister. Only with hindsight does the note seem in dubious taste. In recent months Savile - who died last year at age 84 - has been accused of being a serial abuser of hundreds of underage girls. Investigators have called him one of the worst sex offenders in British history and said he used his TV stardom and charity commitments to help him gain access to vulnerable teens. Savile received a knighthood from Thatcher’s government and other honors. He was rumored to be involved with child sex abuse, but was never charged with any crimes. The National Archives file detailing some of Savile’s dealings with the Thatcher government show his extraordinary access to the highest levels of government. The file includes an April 14, 1980, letter from Thatcher to Savile in which she discusses plans to change tax rules to give “considerable encouragement” to charities. The Savile letter to Thatcher is fawning: “I waited a week before writing to thank you for my lunch invitation because I had such a superb time I didn’t want to be too effusive,” he begins.

Katt Williams, the comedian who has repeatedly found himself on the wrong side of the law, is out on bail after being arrested in Los Angeles on suspicion of child endangerment and possession of a stolen gun. Police officer Norma Eisenman said Williams was taken into custody Friday after the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services did a welfare check at his home. Authorities found more than one firearm, one of which had been reported stolen. Eisenman said the department did not specify how many children lived at the home or whether they were removed. The 41-year-old was arrested this month on a felony warrant related to a police chase. In November, he was accused of hitting a man on the head with a bottle during a fight.