Max Clifford ‘denied treatment’ says family
Family of disgraced publicist ‘fought for his diagnosis’ after he suffered heart attack in prison
Max Clifford’s family claim that he was denied medical treatment in the months before his death yesterday. The disgraced PR guru, 74, had twice fallen over at the Cambridgeshire jail where he was serving an eight-year sentence for sex offences. The Ministry of Justice confirmed that Clifford, who had suffered a heart attack in August, died in hospital after a cardiac arrest. Clifford’s daughter Louise alleged she had been fighting for medical treatment without success.
MAX CLIFFORD’S family claim that he was denied medical treatment in the months before he died yesterday.
The disgraced PR guru, 74, was said to be “in a bad way” after falling twice at the Cambridgeshire jail where he was serving an eight-year sentence for historic sex offences.
The Ministry of Justice confirmed that Clifford, who had suffered a heart attack in August, died in hospital after a cardiac arrest.
Clifford’s daughter Louise, who appeared in court as a witness for her father’s defence, last night alleged that she had been fighting for medical treatment alongside her father’s legal team and doctor, without success.
She said: “It is with great sadness that I must announce that my father, Max Clifford, passed away. He had been ill for some time with heart problems and myself, his doctor and our legal team had fought for his diagnosis and treatment, but to no avail.
“He was hugely loved by the many people in his life for the compassionate, kind and funny man that he was.”
Ms Clifford, 46, said she and her legal team, led by Sarah Forshaw QC, would “continue to pursue his appeal hearing and get him the justice he was denied in life”.
On the basis of alleged fresh evidence, Clifford had been due to appeal against all his convictions early next year. It is not known if the case will now be allowed to continue.
Clifford’s daughter told The Mail on Sunday that he collapsed in his cell at Littlehey Prison on Thursday while he was trying to clean it. A spokesman for Ms Clifford told The Daily Telegraph that her father cleaned his cell out of choice as he was “conscientious and particular”.
Ms Clifford said he collapsed again the next day and was unconscious for several minutes. After seeing a nurse, he was transferred to a local hospital, where he suffered a cardiac arrest on Friday, she said.
Clifford was jailed for eight years in May 2014 after being convicted of a number of charges under Operation Yewtree, the Met Police investigation set up after the Jimmy Savile scandal.
He was found guilty of a string of indecent assaults carried out between 1977 and 1984. In 2016, he was cleared of indecently assaulting a 17-year-old girl, after being accused of using his power to humiliate her into performing a sex act on him in the Eighties.
A MOJ spokesman said: “As with all deaths in custody, there will be an investigation by the independent prisons and probation ombudsman.”
When asked about the claim that Mr Clifford was denied medical treatment, the spokesman said: “All prisoners receive the same level of treatment as anybody would.”
NHS England said it was unable to comment on specific cases.
‘He was hugely loved by the many people in his life for the compassionate, kind and funny man that he was’