Sir Cliff Sues BBC and Police

Singer Sir Cliff Richard is suing the BBC and South Yorkshire Police after being investigated over allegations of historical sexual assault.

15:37 07 October 2016

Sir Cliff Richard is suing BBC and South Yorkshire Police after he became the subject of a long-running police investigation based on allegations dating between 1958 and 1983 made by four men.

 

The 75-year-old singer has always denied the allegations and the Crown Prosecution Service, has already said in June that it was taking no further action against him due to insufficient evidence.

 

In a statement released in June, Sir Cliff criticised what he called "vile accusations", adding he was "named before I was even interviewed, and for me that was like being hung out like 'live bait'".

 

A spokesman for the singer said: "We can confirm that Sir Cliff today issued legal proceedings at the High Court against both South Yorkshire Police and the BBC. It would not be appropriate to comment further."

 

A BBC spokesman said: "While we haven't received any notification of action, we've said previously we are very sorry that Sir Cliff has suffered distress but we have a duty to report on matters of public interest and we stand by our journalism."