Sir Cliff Richard sues force and BBC over apartment raid coverage

Sir Cliff Richard is suing South Yorkshire Police and the BBC for a reported £1 million over live coverage of a police search of his home.

Jul 11, 2016
By Nick Hudson

Sir Cliff Richard is suing South Yorkshire Police and the BBC for a reported £1 million over live coverage of a police search of his home.

The entertainer said his life was “effectively turned upside down” as he confirmed in a statement he has instructed his lawyers to make formal legal complaints to determine whether or not the actions of the force and broadcaster were “justified and proportionate”.

Officers investigating allegations of historical sex offences were filmed searching Sir Cliff`s apartment in Berkshire in August 2014, leading to him being publicly named as part of the inquiry.

The 75-year-old was never arrested or charged.

The Crown Prosecution Service decided against prosecution on grounds of insufficient evidence in June and both the force and the BBC have apologised to the star.

However, Sir Cliff said the “gross intrusion” into his privacy was the result of “illegal collusion” and the resulting fallout damaged his reputation and left him physically unwell.

Sir Cliff claims he developed a cough which affected his touring schedule, an album release had to be delayed, sales of his popular calendars were affected and his winery business suffered.

He called for the police service to follow guidelines in not naming suspects before they were charged save for “exceptional circumstances”.

He said: “I chose not to comment during the active investigation for obvious reasons, but having suffered the experience that I have, I firmly believe that privacy should be respected and that police guidelines are there to be followed.

“That means that, save in exceptional circumstances, people should never be named unless and until they are charged. As everybody has accepted there were no such “exceptional circumstances” in my case.”

According to the Daily Mail, the claim is worth £1 million and reflects damage he suffered personally and commercially as a result of the episode.

Sir Cliff said the issue of whether the actions were justified or not was “important not only for me personally but much more widely”.

He added: “My life was effectively turned upside down and my reputation, worldwide, was unnecessarily damaged. I would not want the same to happen to others whether in the public eye or not.”

“Whilst the police of course need to properly investigate allegations made to them, it is clear to me that questions need to be answered by both the police and the BBC about their initial handling of my matter, which has rightly been condemned from so many quarters, including the Home Affairs Select Committee, the broader press, and, even the police themselves.”

The BBC, whose relationship with Sir Cliff stretches back decades, declined to comment. It previously said it was “very sorry” for causing the singer distress.

Last weekend Sir Cliff met with former Commons deputy speaker Nigel Evans and national disc-jockey Paul Gambaccini in order to combine forces to change the law to protect the anonymity of those accused of sexual assault and rape.

The three want to see a return to the status quo of English law up to the 1980s and are are looking at setting up a victims’ support group, highlighting the “unnecessary pain and suffering” felt by aggrieved parties.

In 2014 a jury unanimously found Mr Evans not guilty of nine sexual allegations, including one of rape, following a five-week trial at Preston Crown Court.

Mr Gambaccini, also arrested under Yewtree in 2013 and told no charges would be brought the following year, said it was important “to turn negative energy into positive, rather than sit around and stew”.

“We must really make sure police can never conduct a witch hunt in this country again,” he added.

In a statement released on June 21, the BBC said it “applied normal editorial judgments” to covering the story, but added: “The BBC is very sorry that Sir Cliff Richard, who has worked as a musician and performer for so many years with the organisation, has suffered distress.

“The BBC`s responsibility is to report fully stories that are in the publi

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