You might recall that on 14th August 2014 the BBC reported live on the search of Sir Cliff Richard's former Berkshire home.
Sir Cliff became the focus of police attention after an allegation that he had behaved improperly towards an adolescent boy at a 1980s Billy Graham evangelist rally in Sheffield. Owing to the Sheffield connection the Metropolitan Police, which was heading up Operation Yewtree nationally, passed the allegations to South Yorkshire Police for further investigation.
South Yorkshire Police obtained a warrant to search the pop legend's exclusive Sunningdale property. The police also colluded with the BBC to ensure that cameras were rolling the moment the warrant was executed.
To cut a long story short, Sir Cliff was cleared of any wrongdoing and awarded considerable compensation for the manner in which the BBC and South Yorkshire Police invaded his privacy and besmirched his name.
According to reports this weekend, Sir Cliff is now seeking an additional £1.5m from the BBC in legal fees after his company, Balladeer Ltd, identified a shortfall. Balladeer has already received £850k from the BBC.
According to Balladeer: "The company has incurred legal costs in defending the reputation of Sir Cliff Richard.
"The final award in respect of costs in relation to this case has not yet been determined by the Court and so it is impractical to include an estimate of this amount within these accounts."
Lawyers on both sides are currently thrashing out the final settlement details.
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Take them to the cleaners, Cliff!
ReplyDeleteColluding with a broadcasting company and/or journalists of any kind is highly unprofessional conduct on the part of the police. They should also be sued by Cliff Richard and his legal advisers.
As for the BBC's lack of professional conduct, that's almost a given with them...