Protect BBC source

Sir Cliff Richard has been badly treated by the police. With no evidence to substantiate an allegation of historic sexual assault to go on, the South Yorkshire constabulary searched his home while the singer was abroad and unaware that anything was amiss. To add insult to injury, the raid in 2014 was filmed by the BBC after the corporation was tipped off and then broadcast to the nation over a number of hours.

Last week, Sir Cliff was awarded substantial damages against the police for the “profound and long-lasting” impact on his reputation. That would seem to have marked the end of the matter; but attention has now turned to the role played by the BBC. A high court judge, Mr Justice Mann, has ruled that BBC managers should disclose more information about how a journalist learnt that Sir Cliff was being investigated. In particular, they must say whether the source was someone working on Operation Yewtree, the wider Metropolitan Police inquiry into sex abuse allegations against celebrities set up after the revelations about Jimmy Savile.

We have been critical of the Yewtree process but it is taking matters too far to expect the BBC to reveal its sources, even tangentially, since the information required could lead to the individual being identified. Broadcasters and newspapers are often given information by people who trust them to keep their names confidential and pushing the BBC to give any details about the identity of its informant seems pointless unless he is to be pursued through the courts.

That would be a breach of the corporation’s duty to protect the source. They are right to resist and should continue to do so.