IT WAS

impossible not to feel for a relieved Cliff Richard, pictured, after his legal victory over the BBC for invading his privacy as part of a scandalously prolonged police investigation into a spurious accusation of child abuse.

However, a victim of a torment is the wrong person to judge his tormentors – and blaming the media for a botched police investigation is a pristine example of shooting the messenger.

In an ITV interview after the verdict, Cliff said: ‘I’d rather 10 guilty people get away with it than one innocent person suffer.’

After police raided his home, the singer hired a management crisis team to prepare him for media interviews. However, it is not clear if they advised him to express this controversial view.

And no one at ITV asked Cliff if he was suggesting that sex offenders Rolf Harris and Max Clifford should have enjoyed anonymity before their convictions.