Broadmoor nurse who helped expose Jimmy Savile is embroiled in £35,000 legal battle to avoid being thrown out of his NHS-owned family home

Published: 09:41, 14 July 2026 | Updated: 09:43, 14 July 2026 A retired nurse who helped expose Jimmy Savile is locked in a £35,000 legal battle after the NHS threw him out of his family home. Keith Palmer, 72, has been ordered to leave the property near the Broadmoor psychiatric hospital in Crowthorne, Berkshire despite living there for 40 years. He had worked as a senior nurse in the notorious facility - which has incarcerated multiple psychopaths over the years - between 1976 and 2014. Mr Palmer, who was granted a tenancy over a house on the hospital estate at Eastern Lane in November 1988, played a part in a pivotal 2014 Panorama documentary exposing Savile's links with the hospital. Savile had a dedicated bedroom and office at the hospital, as well as a personal set of keys allowing him free rein to wander the interior of the sprawling maximum security institution. An NHS report commissioned after his death, in October 2011 aged 84, concluded he had sexually abused five victims during his stint at Broadmoor. Mr Palmer lives at the Eastern Lane house with his wife, Jacqueline, also a former nurse, and their daughter and grandchild. He was handed a 'notice to quit' in January 2024, but refused to leave, the West London National Health Service Trust's barrister, Nicholas Grundy, told London's High Court, prompting a court claim for possession of the house. Keith Palmer, 72, has been ordered to leave the property near the Broadmoor psychiatric hospital in Crowthorne, Berkshire despite living there for 40 years. He is pictured here outside court Mr Palmer walks with his wife Jaqueline outside the High Court But the ex-nurse and whistleblower has said he is 'disappointed' in his former employers - and only 'fell behind' with his rent when they unlawfully increased it. In written arguments to the court, Mr Grundy said the NHS took over management of the special hospital and became Mr Palmer's landlord in 2001, with the hospital previously run by the Broadmoor Hospital Authority. Mr Grundy claimed Mr Palmer's occupation of the cottage was not recognised as a 'protected' tenancy when the nurse first moved in, meaning he has no permanent right of occupation. In either case he had forfeited any long-term occupation rights through his alleged failure to cover his rent arrears, the barrister argued. The court heard Mr Palmer had honoured all his rent obligations until June 2021 when the amount was hiked from £750 to £950 per month, but has since fallen behind to the tune of £12,000. At one point in 1991, the hospital's then managers had considered selling cottages such as Mr Palmer's to their tenants under the government's new 'right to buy' scheme, but the plan was ultimately shelved. In the witness box, Mr Grundy asked the former nurse whether he had been angered by this decision, to which Mr Palmer replied - 'not angry but disappointed'. Martin Young, for Mr Palmer, disputed the NHS' claims he has drastically fallen behind on his rent, insisting that his tenancy is protected under the 1977 Rent Act and that his rent has never been properly 'registered or agreed'. Broadmoor Hospital (pictured) has incarcerated a number of criminals over the years - including Ian Brady and Ronnie Kray Jimmy Savile's links with the hospital dated back to 1968, with his growing involvement in hospital life endorsed by Broadmoor's medical superintendent (file image) He also argued any rent increases after June 2018 were not properly authorised by the Secretary of State - as required by law. In relation to any outstanding utility bills he claimed Mr Palmer has no obligation to pay them until an issue with an overflowing septic tank is resolved. He also claimed evicting Mr Palmer would violate his right to a settled family life - safeguarded by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights - and highlighted recent health problems in the form of a minor stroke and high blood pressure. Jimmy Savile's links with the hospital dated back to 1968, with his growing involvement in hospital life endorsed by Broadmoor's medical superintendent, who believed his presence boosted staff and patient morale. Savile gave the impression of championing the hospital and helping its patients but a 2014 NHS report commissioned after his death found that his fundraising achievements for the hospital were 'relatively trivial', and that he used his Broadmoor accommodation and a nearby caravan to 'entertain a regular stream of female visitors'. Although the inquiry concluded he had abused fewer victims at Broadmoor than at some of the other hospitals where he worked, it decided that five individuals were preyed on by Savile at Broadmoor. Savile's set of keys and free access to ward areas were approved by the medical superintendent and his influence at Broadmoor became more entrenched in the late 1980s when he was made a leading member of the hospital's task force, 'with a direct managerial role at the hospital'. Such was his clout around the hospital that he was routinely referred to as 'Dr Savile'. Broadmoor Hospital has incarcerated a number of criminals over the years including the child killer Ian Brady and gangster Ronnie Kray. The High Court trial continues.