Cliff Richard to sue BBC

Legendary British singer Sir Cliff Richard will sue the BBC and South Yorkshire police following a Live broadcast of a raid on his home in 2014.

Last month UK police confirmed there would be no charges emanating from allegations of sexual abuse,
and the investigation had been dropped.

Last year an independent investigation concluded that South Yorkshire Police should not have released “highly confidential” information about the planned search to the BBC.

Sir Cliff, 75, will reportedly seek more than £1m ($A1.7m) in damages and costs, following international damage to his reputation.

Yesterday he posted on Facebook, “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.

“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.”

Last month the BBC said it was “very sorry” Sir Cliff “suffered distress” after its coverage of the raid but said it “stands by the decision to report the investigation undertaken by the South Yorkshire Police and the search of his property.”