CLIFF: I AVOID KIDS SINCE COPS RAID
I don’t walk by ball boys’ dressing rooms
SIR Cliff Richard won his privacy battle with the BBC yesterday.
But now he “won’t go near children” due to “horrifying” TV coverage of a raid on his home after a sex assault allegation.
Cliff, 77, even refuses to walk past the ball boys’ dressing rooms at his beloved Wimbledon.
SIR Cliff Richard last night revealed he “won’t go anywhere near children” following the BBC’s coverage of a police raid on his home.
The teary pop star was left “choked up” yesterday after winning his privacy battle against the Beeb.
If “heads roll” at the organisation it would be deserved, he declared.
Sir Cliff added: “In Wimbledon there is a tunnel between Centre Court and Court One.
“I used to use it regularly to go and see the matches I was interested in on Court One and it went right past the ball boys’ dressing room. I won’t go there now.
“I won’t go anywhere near children. Why? I’ve spent my whole life hugging people’s grandchildren. But because of this thing now...”
A High Court judge awarded him £210,000 damages after ruling the BBC breached his rights in a “serious and sensationalist way”.
Sir Cliff warned: “Senior managers have to carry the can. If heads roll then maybe it’s because it was deserved...
“It’s too big a decision to be made badly. It was nonsense. Particularly as we knew the BBC knew the police were not going to name me.
“But somehow or another the BBC decided they would name me. I mentioned it when I gave my evidence.
“It seemed to me there was a great deal of arrogance there in that they took no notice of the police.”
Earlier fans clapped and sang his hit song Congratulations.
The singer sued the
BBC over its broadcasts of a search of his house at Sunningdale, Berks, in August 2014. The Beeb, which used a helicopter for the story, argued its coverage was in the public interest.
South Yorkshire Police was investigating a child sex assault allegation, which Sir Cliff denied, and prosecutors later said he would not be charged.
Mr Justice Mann has yet to assess how badly he was left out of pocket, but lawyers expect a “substantial” figure.
Steven Heffer, from law firm Collyer Bristow, said: “It’s a serious problem for the BBC. It’s a big loss.”
Sir Cliff ’s friend Gloria Hunniford said: “I don’t think you get over four years of turmoil like that.
“When he heard the accusations being made against him and what the BBC had done he just collapsed in tears, as indeed he did today.”
She said Sir Cliff has spent £4million on legal fees.
BBC bosses are considering an appeal. Fran Unsworth, director of news and current affairs at the BBC, said: “We are sorry for the distress that Sir Cliff has been through.
“We understand the very serious impact that this has had on him.”
The Star Says: Page 6