Sir Cliff’s web troll anguish

Star targeted after BBC aired raid

COURT BATTLE Sir Cliff Richard

SIR Cliff Richard spent over £70,000 dealing with online trolls after the BBC revealed he was a child abuse suspect.

Sir Cliff ’s lawyers said the corporation’s coverage of a police raid on his home made people think it was “open season” on the star.

The singer, 76, is suing the BBC over identifying him as a suspect in a child sex abuse inquiry. He is claiming his costs for money spent on hiring solicitors and PR agents to deal with defamatory posts, including those on the Christians Against Cliff Facebook page. It is part of total costs of £279,261 he is demanding.

Sir Cliff also spent £15,000 on legal fees over a suspected blackmail plot after a man demanded money in return for not spreading false sex claims about him. The star, who was never charged, is suing the BBC for airing South Yorkshire Police’s 2014 raid on his home in Sunningdale, Berkshire.

High Court papers seen by the Mirror claim Sir Cliff is entitled to special damages because he is a “well-known individual” named in a “lurid and sensational” story.

He is also claiming for £105,000 spent on media inquiries and £37,000 on media interviews.

The court papers also show the BBC’s source for the story was not part of Operation Yewtree but the tipster did get the details from the Met’s sex abuse inquiry. Scotland Yard said yesterday a new inquiry is under way, and a number of people outside of the Met knew Sir Cliff was being investigated.

South Yorkshire Police has already paid the star damages.