Jimmy Savile: Whitehall honours committee could apologise for knighthood The source said that the "staggering and grotesque" nature of Savile's offences - which were laid bare in a police report last week - meant that the committee had decided to meet to discuss what action to take. If it decides to issue a formal "apology," it could be contained in an advertisement in a forthcoming edition of the London Gazette, where traditionally all of the Queen's Birthday and New Year's honours are announced. Another idea, floated in a Sunday newspaper, was to award Savile a knighthood and strip it from him, however this is thought unlikely to happen. Any apology from the civil servants would follow other apologies from police and prosecutors for not taking action against Savile while he was alive, despite victims making formal complaints about his behaviour. The committee is able to strip people of their honours if they have been jailed for over three months, or have been expelled from a professional body. However it can also act if it is clear that somebody's actions after receiving an honour has brought the system into disrepute. A spokesman for the Cabinet Office declined to comment. Last year the committee, which considers two to three applications to forfeit any honour every year, made headlines by stripping Fred Goodwin, the former chief executive of bank Royal Bank of Scotland, of his knighthood. Sir Bob Kerslake, the head of the civil service who chairs the forfeiture committee, has recently strengthened the committee, appointing three new independent positions have been appointed taking the total number of positions on it to six. Sir Bob told The Daily Telegraph that reputational damage to the system was considered when nominating people for honours. He said: "We do ask ourselves how will this look in reputational terms because we have got to think about the reputation of the honours system." Last week, Keir Starmer, the Director of Public Prosecutions, apologised to victims abused by Savile as he disclosed that police missed three chances to take him to trial. A Metropolitan Police report found that Savile had "groomed a nation" and preyed on 450 victims, aged between eight and 47, over a 54-year period.