Paedophile ex-BBC DJ Chris Denning died at Bedford Hospital

The judge at the most recent sentencing described Chris Denning as "utterly depraved"

A former BBC radio DJ who was jailed for multiple child sex offences died last year, it has emerged.

Chris Denning became seriously ill at HMP Bedford and died, aged 81, in June 2022 at Bedford Hospital.

His death has just come to light in a Prisons & Probation Ombudsman report, which said he should have been taken to hospital more quickly.

The paedophile used his fame to groom and sexually assault dozens of young victims in he 1960s, 70s and 80s.

Denning was part of the original BBC Radio 1 line-up when the station was launched in 1967, and was the first announcer heard on BBC Radio 2.

He was living in Basildon, Essex, when he was arrested as part of the Metropolitan Police's abuse inquiry Operation Yewtree in June 2013.

In 2014, the former DJ was jailed for 13 years for offences against 24 boys, including one allegedly at the house of serial sex offender Jimmy Savile.

Then two years later Denning was sentenced to a further 13 years in prison at Southwark Crown Court for abusing 11 boys, some of whom were as young as eight.

'Aladdin's cave'

The jury at Southwark Crown Court heard Denning used his fame to lure boys into his house where he gave them records, alcohol and cigarettes before forcing them to perform sex acts.

On several occasions he took boys to London and introduced them to other pop celebrities, including convicted paedophile Gary Glitter, the prosecution said.

An earlier court case in 2014 heard from one victim - who visited Denning's home in Winchester in Hampshire in the 1970s - and described it as an "Aladdin's cave" full of pornographic magazines.

Another recalled a sleepover at the same property when "the lounge was full of boys".

Denning admitted 40 offences, including indecent assault and inciting boys to commit acts of gross indecency.

He met many of his victims at the Walton Hop disco in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, which was also frequented by pop star turned media mogul Jonathan King, who was also jailed for child sex offences.

Chris Denning (middle row, third from right) was part of the original 1967 BBC Radio 1 line up that included Terry Wogan, Tony Blackburn, John Peel, Kenny Everett and Jimmy Young

Judge Alistair McCreath said the effect on the victims, now grown men, had been "devastating" and branded the disgraced DJ as "utterly depraved".

The report by the Prisons & Probations Ombudsman said nursing staff at HMP Bedford thought Denning was already receiving end-of-life care, and they should have transferred him to hospital more quickly.

The reviewer was unable to assess if more immediate treatment would have prevented his death, which was recorded being as a result of natural causes.