BBC bosses said Cliff was ‘gold-plated scoop’
BBC bosses boasted they had ‘stuffed the opposition’ with a ‘goldplated scoop’ about police searching Sir Cliff Richard’s home.
Executives showered journalist Dan Johnson with praise after he disclosed that police were investigating the singer over an alleged child sex assault.
The congratulatory messages included emails from head of newsgathering Jonathan Munro and then deputy director of news Fran Unsworth, now the broadcaster’s director of news and current affairs.
Lawyers for Sir Cliff have accused the BBC of a serious invasion of the singer’s privacy in reports of the police search of his apartment in Sunningdale, Berkshire.
The 77-year-old is suing for substantial damages and has told the High Court in London his reputation has been ‘forever tainted’ by the coverage, which left him so distraught he feared a heart attack.
Sir Cliff’s legal team read emails to the court showing the delight of executives. News editor Gary Smith, 54, from Glasgow, emailed Mr Johnson, saying: ‘Fantastically well done on the story, 100 per cent gold-plated scoop.’
A duty editor said he had ‘stuffed the opposition’ and the BBC’s head of newsgathering Mr Munro said: ‘Terrific work today, great scoop, really well played.’
Sir Cliff’s barrister Justin Rush- brooke, QC, told Mr Johnson: ‘It was fair to say you were the hero of the day… You were the toast of the UK news team.’
The court has heard the mood at the BBC changed when the force leading the investigation, South Yorkshire Police, claimed Mr Johnson had effectively blackmailed it into giving him an exclusive tip-off about the August 2014 search. Officers said he threatened to reveal Sir Cliff was under investigation a month earlier, before they were ready to carry out the search, and the operation would have been jeopardised if they had not co-operated with him.
In internal emails following the police complaint, news editor Mr Smith – now head of news at BBC Scotland – said Mr Johnson ‘seems to have been nailing them to a wall’. Mr Smith, a former pupil of Glasgow’s private Kelvinside Academy and a Glasgow University graduate, added: ‘It wouldn’t look pretty if it came out.’
South Yorkshire Police has since admitted unlawful conduct over its co-operation with the BBC, and has agreed to pay Sir Cliff £700,000 in costs and damages.
The BBC has disputed the star’s legal claim and defended its right to broadcast the police search, saying its report was accurate and in the public interest.
Mr Johnson has told the court he learned of the investigation via a tip-off from a journalistic source.
He said he only learned later the information had come from Operation Yewtree, Scotland Yard’s investigation into historic child sexual abuse by celebrities.
Mr Johnson denied he had used ‘strong-arm’ tactics against the police. He defended the BBC’s decision to report on the search, which was carried out without Sir Cliff being arrested or charged with any offence. Prosecutors announced in 2016 that the star would face no further action.
Mr Johnson said: ‘This was a story involving allegations of a very serious nature against a figure of the highest profile, against a backdrop of a number of allegations against celebrities.’
Sir Cliff listened from the back of the courtroom as Mr Johnson gave evidence. His friend Gloria Hunniford was also in court.
The trial continues.
‘The toast of the UK news team’