Jeremy Hunt has apologised to patients abused by Jimmy Savile following the publication of a series of reports on the NHS's handling of abuse claims.
An official report by barrister Kate Lampard found that Savile was left unhindered to abuse 60 victims, 10 of whom were aged under 12, over a two-decade period at Stoke Mandeville hospital in Buckinghamshire.
Overall, allegations of abuse were made against Savile at almost a quarter of NHS acute hospitals.
In a statement in the Commons this morning, the health secretary reiterated the apology he made last June on behalf of the government and the health service for their collective failure to deal with the abuse.
"What happened was horrific, caused immeasurable and often permanent damage and betrayed vulnerable people who trusted us to keep them safe. We let them down," he told MPs.
Hunt added that Savile's celebrity status and "useful fundraising skills" had meant that "the right questions – the hard questions – simply were not asked".
"Never again must the power of money or celebrity blind us to repeated clear signals that some extremely vulnerable people were being abused," he declared.
In response to the reports, Downing Street has announced that a consultation on making the reporting of child abuse mandatory is to be accelerated.
The prime minister's spokeswoman said the government "will now look to expand that scope to cover vulnerable adults too".
The NHS investigation into Stoke Mandeville found that while the former BBC DJ's reputation as a "sex pest" was an "open secret" among some staff, none of at least 10 complaints – including one made formally – against the former BBC DJ was taken seriously or passed to senior management or police.
The report also states that Savile's involvement with Stoke Mandeville and Broadmoor hospitals was "supported and facilitated by government ministers", adding that Margaret Thatcher "sponsored Savile in his role as fundraiser" during her time as prime minister.