Sir Jimmy Savile was not forced to undergo Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks by Stoke Mandeville Hospital when the system was introduced 10 years ago, The Independent can reveal.

The hospital, where staff have described years of abuse by Savile, said he had not been vetted when the system was introduced in 2002, saying there had been "no legal requirement" to undertake one on existing staff.

A basic CRB check, carried out on individuals working with children under legislation introduced in 1999, would only have established criminality, and would revealed nothing about the behaviour of Savile, who had no convictions.

The "enhanced check" by the CRB for those in contact with children or vulnerable adults – and often required for nurses and carers – establishes if any information is held on file such as police investigations which have not led to a criminal conviction or record.

Savile, a hospital porter at Stoke Mandeville who also raised millions for the establishment's new spinal unit, kept a flat in the nurses' accommodation block from 1969 until his death.