A SERVING police officer has been accused of misconduct as part of an inquiry into how sex abuse allegations about Jimmy Savile and one of his friends were handled.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said it was several weeks into an investigation into potential misconduct issues over how North Yorkshire Police officers responded to being given information about Savile and the former Mayor of Scarborough, Peter Jaconelli.

The inquiry relates to how the force handled information regarding Savile given by a 15-year old-girl in 2002 and how it treated two disclosures made by a serving prisoner about Jaconelli in December 2008 and January 2009.

A serving North Yorkshire Police detective sergeant has been served with a misconduct notice and been interviewed by an IPCC investigator.

The watchdog said other officers could also be interviewed.

The IPCC announced in April it would investigate the issues, after the force referred itself to the watchdog over the way in which it recorded and responded to reports it received against the disgraced TV presenter and former North Yorkshire County councillor and ice-cream entrepreneur Jaconelli, who died in 1999.

The force had been asked to disclose all relevant details about the men to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in December 2012 and to the IPCC in May last year.

After assessment by the IPCC those matters have been sent back to the force to deal with.

At the time, a spokesman for the force said: "Such is the nature of the evidence [gathered by the force] that, if he were alive today, Peter Jaconelli would have been interviewed under caution and a file of evidence would have been submitted for consideration by the Crown Prosecution Service."

IPCC deputy chair Sarah Green said: "The investigation is examining whether the North Yorkshire Police response to the disclosures was in accordance with national and force policies on crime recording, intelligence handling and dealing with victims of sexual abuse.”

A force spokesman said: “To ensure maximum transparency in the way North Yorkshire Police dealt with information and disclosures regarding alleged historic sexual abuse in Scarborough, North Yorkshire Police referred itself to the IPCC and is fully co-operating with their ongoing independent investigation.

“In respect of the matters which were referred back to North Yorkshire Police by the IPCC, these are currently being investigated and a decision will be made in due course on how to deal with those matters."