A BOOK about Jimmy Savile has won a prestigious prize, awarded tonight (Friday, October 9).

Dan Davies’ In Plain Sight: The Life and Lies of Jimmy Savile won the third annual Gordon Burn Prize.

Mr Davies’ investigative book was announced as the prize winner at a Durham Book Festival event held at Durham Town Hall.

Actor Maxine Peake, one of the judges, said the book was forensically detailed, compelling and admirably objective.

“This is so much more than a book about the monster that is Savile. It’s about grotesque social attitudes towards the famous and money.

“It also pinpoints the collective culpability we all share in allowing these people to offend and operate,” she added.

Author Doug Johnstone, another judging panel member, said it was a phenomenal and important piece of work and one of the finest examples of investigative journalism he had ever read.

Also on the shortlist were Midland by Honor Gavin, Noon Tide Roll by Romesh Gunesekera, Original Rockers by Richard King and Nothing is True and Everything is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev.

A spokesman for the Gordon Burn Trust said the shortlist was of extremely high quality.

The award was founded in 2012 in honour of the late Gordon Burn, a Newcastle-burn writer.

This weekend (October 10-11) at the Durham Book Festival will be Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Pat Barker, Chris Mullin, Vince Cable, Caroline Criado-Perez, Simon Armitage and many more. Visit durhambookfestival.com for full details.