Sir Cliff Richard ‘wanted revenge’ over smear from BBC coverage

Sir Cliff Richard has spoken to the BBC about his treatment at the hands of the broadcaster and police following an accusation of sexual assault.

The singer sued the BBC for invasion of privacy and won £210,000 in damages over the broadcaster’s coverage of a police raid on his home, which involved the deployment of a TV helicopter.

Sir Cliff has now spoken of his ordeal directly to BBC Breakfast ahead of the release of his 104th album. He said his name was smeared “around the world”. He denied the allegations against him. 0 Sir Cliff Richard said he felt hate and ‘wanted revenge’

The singer also said he felt hate and “wanted revenge” in the wake of the controversy.

He said: “It’s something that I could never have expected. I’ve been told I’m Christian, goody-two-shoes and stuff like that, I tried to live as honourable a life as possible. I thought this could ruin everything I’ve tried to do.”

Noarrestsweremadeinrelation to the accusation against Sir Cliff and he did not face charges.

The veteran performer said he believed there should be a change in the law to provide anonymity to those accused of similar crimes, until the police have enough evidence to prosecute.

He said: “It’s a fight that I have to make. There’s a whole army of us that have been falsely accused.

“They smeared my name around the world.”