A FORMER mayor of a seaside resort looks set to be stripped of his civic honours after detectives revealed tht were he still alive he would face questioning over alleged child abuse.

Scarborough Council leader Tom Fox said he wanted to bring forward a motion to strip Peter Jaconelli, a friend of Jimmy Savile, of his alderman status at a meeting of the authority on May 12.

Jaconelli, who died in 1999 aged 73, ran an ice cream business.

Coun Fox said he was pleased North Yorkshire Police had referred the matter of the conduct of its investigations into Savile and Peter Jaconelli to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

He said: “This is a mature and responsible action and hopefully will grow public confidence in how matters have been dealt with.”

“Now the police have stated that if Peter Jaconelli was alive today he would have been interviewed under caution – a criminal interview – and a file submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service which is the ultimate decision-maker for taking people to court, I am confident to say that this leaves me in no doubt that the evidence relied on comes from victims who are creditable, truthful and most reliable.”

In a separate statement, Julia Mulligan, North Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “After identifying a number of issues, voluntarily referring the case to the commission was the right thing to do.

“In the meantime, on behalf of the public and victims, I want to reiterate our commitment to ensuring they receive the best possible service.”