Sir Cliff spent £280,000 to clear his name

Cliff richard spent £280,000 defending his reputation after the BBC revealed he was a child sex abuse suspect.

The 76-year- old singer battled internet trolls, a blackmailer and fielded an avalanche of questions from politicians and the media.

he even engaged an immigration lawyer in case the US authorities tried to stop him visiting his £6million caribbean mansion.

Sir cliff’s bills were disclosed in documents submitted to the high court for his legal action against the BBC. his lawyers claim the corporation’s coverage of a police raid on his home provoked ‘mischief-makers’ worldwide.

They want the BBC to pick up the tab for hiring solicitors and Pr agents to deal with unfounded social media posts. Sir cliff’s lawyers say the coverage was ‘particularly lurid and sensational’ and broadcast chiefs should have realised how controversial it would be.

They said ‘scurrilous, false and defamatory posts and videos’ were uploaded to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other parts of the internet. a Facebook page, christians against cliff, was set up within hours of the police raid. Justin rushbrooke Qc, who leads Sir cliff’s legal team, argued that the wall-to-wall coverage led some to believe they could publish online with impunity.

The papers, obtained by the Daily Mirror, claim Sir cliff spent £279,261 on lawyers, advisers and Pr people in the years after the story broke.

of this, £72,261 went on tackling online trolls and £15,551 on challenging an individual who tried to blackmail the star by threatening to spread further malicious claims.

The man, who has not been identified, was arrested but no charges were brought.

The false sex abuse allegations emerged after a man contacted police claiming he had been sexually assaulted by Sir cliff when he was a child in 1985.

The BBc broke the story and had a team of journalists and a helicopter waiting for police as they arrived at the star’s £3million home in Sunningdale, Berkshire, in 2014.

in May, South Yorkshire Police paid the star up to £1million in damages and costs in a private agreement.