Cliff Richard suing BBC over live coverage of raid at his home

Musician Cliff Richard has said he is suing the BBC and South Yorkshire Police over live coverage of a raid on his home which was searched amid allegations of historic sex offences.

He said his life was “effectively turned upside down” by the incident which did not result in the 75-year-old ever being arrested or charged.

Richard confirmed in a statement he has instructed his lawyers to make formal legal complaints to determine whether or not the actions of the broadcaster and police was “justified and proportionate”.

Officers were filmed searching his apartment in Berkshire in August 2014, leading to him being publicly named as part of the inquiry.

The Crown Prosecution Service dismissed the case on grounds of insufficient evidence in June and both the BBC and South Yorkshire Police have apologised to the musician.

Privacy

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

“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,” he said.

“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.”

Reports in England said his claim is worth £1 million and reflects damage he suffered personally and commercially as a result of the episode.

It is understood Richard 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 said the issue of whether the actions were justified or not was “important not only for me personally but much more widely”.

“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.”

The BBC declined to comment. It previously said it was “very sorry” for causing the singer distress.