More than 1,400 men – including 261 VIPs – have been investigated by police over claims of historical child sex abuse since the Jimmy Savile scandal erupted.

The huge number of suspects lays bare the task facing detectives, who have seen a surge in the number of victims coming forward after the decades of abuse by the BBC DJ and presenter were revealed in 2012.

Detectives said yesterday that the VIPs include 76 politicians, 43 figures from the music industry, 135 from the world of TV, film or radio, and seven sport stars.

The cases include the recent high-profile convictions of Rolf Harris, Gary Glitter and Max Clifford.

The Savile effect: Police said there has been a surge in the number of reports of abuse following the Jimmy Savile scandal in 2012. Above, Savile in 1997, left, and Chief Constable Simon Bailey, the National Police Chiefs Council's lead for child abuse (right)

Victims were abused in 357 institutions including schools, children’s homes, places of worship, medical institutions, prisons, youth clubs, community centres, sports venues and military establishments, according to figures from the National Police Chiefs Council.

Forces in England and Wales are expecting to receive more than 52,000 reports of historical sexual abuse this year, a 166 per cent increase since 2012.

Police and experts in child sex abuse said the figures are just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ and many more will have been abused.

Chief Constable Simon Bailey, who runs Operation Hydrant, the national policing unit that co-ordinates investigations of child sexual abuse, described the figures as ‘stark’. He said: ‘What we are seeing is an absolutely unprecedented increase in the number of reports that are coming forward.

‘There is no doubt in my mind that the Savile effect has played a significant part in giving victims the confidence to report abuse. But these figures do raise the question, is more abuse being perpetrated? I don’t have the evidence at the moment to prove this one way or another.

‘But I do know that the internet is being abused in a manner for which it was never intended. And as a result I cannot help but think that more abuse is being perpetrated.’

Public confidence in the Crown Prosecution Service’s willingness to prosecute high-profile figures was shaken last month when it announced that Labour peer Lord Janner would not face trial – despite a tidal wave of evidence – because he has dementia.

A HUGE TASK FOR POLICE Of the 1,433 men who have been investigated by police over historical sex abuse, 216 are dead. 261 VIPs were investigated including 135 figures from the world of TV, film or radio, 43 music industry figures, 76 politicians, and seven sport stars. Victims have identified 357 institutions where they were subjected to abuse, including 154 schools, 75 children’s homes, 40 places of worship, 14 medical institutions and nine prisons. Police expect to receive more than 52,000 reports of historical sexual abuse this year, 166 per cent more than in 2012. Advertisement

The 86-year-old party grandee, who escaped prosecution three times over 16 years thanks to botched investigations, was accused of being ‘Labour’s Cyril Smith’.

The refusal to prosecute him sparked accusations of a 45-year cover-up by police and prosecutors. The CPS has now asked an independent barrister to review the decision. Lord Janner denies the allegations.

Mr Bailey refused to discuss Lord Janner. He said the Operation Hydrant team was working to create a database which would ensure that the failures of the past, when forces covered up or ignored abuse allegations, would not be repeated.

During the Savile investigation it emerged that reports of abuse were buried, which meant that when individual forces with their own allegations checked the national police computer database his name did not come up.

Mr Bailey said: ‘One of our primary objectives is to make sure where we get intelligence and where we get evidence of abuse it is being co-ordinated so we don’t make those mistakes.’

Tom Watson, the Labour MP who triggered a Scotland Yard investigation when he claimed there was a paedophile network linked to Parliament, said: ‘We are only just beginning to understand how as a country, over many generations, we managed to turn a blind eye to Britain’s child abuse scandal.

‘The survivors deserve justice and future generations require greater protection.’