Timetable of nightmare for a pop
South Yorkshire Police. The force led an investigation into the allegations against Sir Cliff.
It was prompted by a claim the singer molested a boy at Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane football ground in 1986.
Officers investigating allegations of historical sex offences were filmed searching his luxury home in Berkshire in 2014,14, leading to him being publiclyly named as the subject of thee probe.
But he was never arrested or charged ed and the case was droppeded by the Crown Prosecutionn Service in June on the groundsrounds of insufficient evidence. ce.
Angry Sir Cliff said the BBC decision to broadcast the police swoop left him feeling like “live bait”. Gloria presented Sir Cliff with a cake to mark his 76th birthday at the Gala. She said: “We knew from the very beginning that there was absolutely nothing to these accusations. “We are so pleased for Cliff. We would like Sir Ro Rod to come up and say a few words about t he s i t ua uation Cliff unfortuna unfortunately found himself in. “And tha thank God you are in the cle clear now.” In August one of four men who made allegationsalleg asked forfo the case to be reviewed. But last month the Crown Prosecution Service upheld their decision not to prosecute.
Sir Cliff said he was “pleased” with the decision and hoped “it brings this matter to a close”.
Tomorrow he will l obby politicians in a bid to stop those accused of sex abuse being named before they are charged. The star wants a change in the law that would give anonymity to suspects unless a judge rules otherwise.
He hopes it would end “witchhunts” against celebrities and highprofile figures who have had their reputations ruined by unfounded 14 August 2014: South Yorkshire Police raid Sir Cliff’s home in Sunningdale, Berks, after allegation of sex abuse in the 1980s. A BBC camera crew is in tow after a police tip-off. 23 August 2014 Sir Cliff voluntarily attends a police interview. 24 October 2014 MPs brand police actions “inept”. 25 February 2015 South Yorkshire Police Chief Constable David Crompton says the investigation has “increased significantly” and “involves more than one allegation”. 27 February 2015 Sir Cliff’s lawyers complain that the disclosure sparked “further unnecessary and extremely damaging media coverage”. October 2015 Sir Cliff plays a week of sold-out concerts at London’s Royal Albert Hall to mark his 75th birthday. 5 November 2015 Sir Cliff is voluntarily re-interviewed. 10 May 2016 A file on alleged historic sex abuse goes to the Crown Prosecution Service. 16 June CPS rules there is