Jailed Gary Glitter Questioned Over New Sex Abuse Claim
Jailed pop star Gary Glitter has been interviewed by police over allegations of sex offences against a girl under the age of 14.
The claim relates to an address in Kensington, west London, decades before his eventual conviction.
What Police Have Confirmed
Glitter, 82, whose real name is Paul Gadd, has been accused of committing the offences "over a period of time" in the late 1970s and early 1980s, according to a Press Association report carried by Kent Online.
He was questioned under caution in prison after a claim was made on January 9, 2025, with the Metropolitan Police confirming the interview took place in July 2025.
The Met said in a statement: "The investigation is ongoing, and the victim is currently being supported by specialist officers. Anyone reporting non-recent sexual offences will be listened to and supported."
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Where Glitter Is Now and What He's Already Serving
This new investigation comes against the backdrop of a conviction Glitter is still serving time for.
He was jailed for 16 years in 2015 for sexually abusing three schoolgirls between 1975 and 1980, with that sentence not due to expire until 2031. He is currently held at Category C HMP Channings Wood in Devon.
Those 2015 convictions originally came to light through Operation Yewtree, the Metropolitan Police investigation launched in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal that uncovered a wider pattern of historic abuse allegations across the entertainment industry.
Why He's Back in Prison After Once Being Released
Glitter's time outside prison since his 2015 conviction has been brief, and the reasons for his return are part of the public record.
He was automatically released from HMP The Verne, a low-security prison in Portland, Dorset, in February 2023, after serving half of his fixed-term determinate sentence.
Less than six weeks later, he was returned to custody after police monitoring found he had breached his licence conditions, reportedly by attempting to access the dark web and viewing downloaded images of children. He subsequently lost a bid to be freed after a paper review by the Parole Board in June of the previous year.
What the Met Says Has Changed Since Then
The force used its statement on this case to point to a broader shift in how it says it now handles reports of this kind.
"Over the past year, the Met has expanded safeguarding teams, and rolled out training on victim approach, resulting in charges more than doubling for child sexual exploitation," the statement said.
That context places this specific investigation within a stated, broader push by the force to take historic and non-recent allegations more seriously than it says it has in the past, rather than treating Glitter's case in isolation.
Key Takeaways
- Gary Glitter, 82 (real name Paul Gadd), has been interviewed under caution over alleged sex offences against a girl under 14 in Kensington, west London.
- The alleged offences occurred "over a period of time" in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
- He is currently serving a 16-year sentence, handed down in 2015, that expires in 2031.
- He was recalled to prison in 2023 after breaching licence conditions by allegedly accessing the dark web.
- The Metropolitan Police say the investigation is ongoing, with the victim supported by specialist officers.
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James Mitchell has covered US and UK politics for over a decade, with a focus on elections, foreign policy, and Capitol Hill. He breaks down complex political stories into clear, fast analysis.
