Bills for Cliff vs BBC top £1.1m

THE cost of Sir Cliff richard’s legal action against the BBC has soared to over £ 1million, a High Court judge revealed yesterday.

The singer’s action against the Corporation over its coverage of a police raid on his home has already produced lawyers’ bills of £1,167,144.83, even though a trial is not expected to start until next spring. If the BBC loses, it may have to pay the amount in full – on top of Sir Cliff’s claims for damages.

Sir Cliff, 76, pictured, is suing the BBC for up to £1.5million after a police raid on his home in 2014 following historical allegations of child sexual abuse was broadcast live. He was never arrested or charged.

In a ruling on the case’s costs, judge Chief Master Marsh refused a BBC call for the soaring bills to be condemned as ‘excessive and disproportionate’. He said that although some costs were ‘surprisingly high’, it was ‘a case of real importance’.