BEEB BOSS: WE WENT A BIT TOO FAR OVER CLIFF

BEEB boss Tony Hall has admitted the corporation “overdid it” in coverage of a police raid on Sir Cliff Richard’s home.

The BBC used a helicopter to film the operation as officers investigated sex crime claims.

The corporation was later forced to pay out over £1million to the star, who was never arrested or charged with any crime, when it was found to have breached his privacy.

And at a meeting yesterday of the Commons culture committee, BBC director general Lord Hall said: “We are really sorry about what Sir Cliff has been through.

“We reported accurately what happened but we overdid it, the helicopter overdid it, it was something to report but down the bulletin.”

He insisted the issue had caused much “soul searching” inside the BBC, insisting he still backs journalists investigating assault claims.

Lord Hall added:

“We approached

Sir Cliff ’s lawyers, and indeed I approached Sir Cliff on a couple of occasions, suggesting: ‘Could we sit down and sort this out without going through the courts?’

“But sadly the message came back: ‘we don’t want to talk.’”

Lord Hall added: “We felt the principle of people knowing about this raid was more important in this case than the privacy. You don’t want a point at which people’s houses are being raided and no-one knows about it.”

Last month Sir Cliff spoke of “the bad period” he had been through.

He added: “I’ve managed to rise up out of what seemed like a quagmire.”