Cliff wins privacy case against BBC
Prime Minister Theresa May has warned that suspects must not be given blanket anonymity in the wake of a landmark ruling that the BBC breached Sir Cliff Richard’s privacy.
Justice Mann ordered that the corporation pay the entertainer £210,000 (NZ$404,000) in damages for broadcasting a police raid on his home in relation to allegations of historic child sex offences.
The BBC is looking at appealing the case as it could have a chilling effect on press freedom, with legal experts saying the decision is a further step towards a privacy law that will stop the media from naming suspects in all but exceptional cases.
But Richard said he would ‘‘fight to the death’’ against what he called the abuse of the freedom of speech. ‘‘I’d rather 10 guilty people get away with it than one innocent person suffer. There is no reason for that,’’ he said.
Campaigners and some MPs have called on the Government to go even further by introducing ‘‘Cliff’s law’’, banning the press from naming suspects until they have been charged.
When asked if she would consider such a law, May said: ‘‘This is a difficult issue, it does have to be dealt with sensitively.
‘‘There may well be cases where actually the publication of a name enables other victims to come forward and therefore to strengthen the case against an individual.’’
Justice Mann, sitting at the High Court in London, criticised the coverage in Sir Cliff’s case as ‘‘sensationalist’’, saying: ‘‘Knowing that Sir Cliff was under investigation might be of interest to the gossipmongers, but it does not contribute materially to the genuine public interest in the existence of police investigations in this area.’’
The judge awarded Sir Cliff £190,000 to cover the ‘‘general effect’’ on his life plus £20,000 because the BBC had aggravated the damage by nominating the story for scoop of the year.
Lawyers say the 77-year-old singer could get more when the judge decides how badly he has been left out of pocket at a later stage of litigation. Richard says that the case has cost him
£4 million.
The BBC will have to pay
65 per cent and South Yorkshire Police, which admitted liability at an earlier hearing, 35 per cent. Richard had sued the BBC over broadcasts of a raid on his home in Sunningdale, Berkshire, in August 2014, following a child sex assault allegation.
‘‘Knowing that Sir Cliff was under investigation might be of interest to the gossipmongers, but it does not contribute materially to the genuine public interest in the existence of police investigations in this area.’’
Justice Mann