Clifford tells of office sex

PUBLICIST MAX CLIFFORD has told jurors he had sex in his office but only with a woman he was having an affair with.

The 70-year-old said he had a relationship with an employee, and because so many other people in his industry were also having affairs, it seemed “natural”.

Giving evidence in his trial for a string of alleged indecent assaults, he told Southwark Crown Court: “As and when and if something happened in the office, it would have been very very occasional, spontaneous, after work with the doors locked.”

He said he knew the relationship was “morally wrong” but he did not think he would be found out.

Clifford said he had affairs with four women, including a French model and a television dancer. He told the court that if a woman had offered sex to him in the 1970s and 80s, she had “probably offered the same to everybody else”.

Clifford said he had

remained friends with most of the women he had relationships with and did not pretend he was not married. “I always said ‘I love my wife’,” he said. Asked by barrister Richard Horwell QC: “Have you ever had any sexual contact with a woman without consent?”, Clifford replied: “No.”

He went on: “It would never have been of interest to me.”

Later, the barrister asked him: “Have you ever had a sexual interest in children?”

Clifford said: “No, no. It is utterly revolting, utterly, utterly disgusting lies.”

He admitted using fake identities to check the honesty of people who may approach him; for example, a woman with a kiss-and-tell story.

However, he denied claims that he had impersonated Hollywood bigwigs including Cubby Broccoli, Charles Bronson and MichaelWinner on the phone, saying he could only put on a “gay” voice.

Clifford told the court his PR business would have been “ruined” if he had a reputation for touching women.

Picture: PA. Max Clifford arrives at Southwark Crown Court yesterday.