British pop icon Cliff Richard today won a major privacy case against the BBC when a UK court awarded the singer 210,000 pounds in damages over the distress caused by the broadcaster's coverage of a police search of his home in 2014.
The 77-year-old pop singer, born in Lucknow during the British Raj era, described his victory as "wonderful news" as he fought back tears over his "years of hell".
In the ruling, Justice Mann said that the BBC had infringed the star's privacy rights in a "serious and sensationalist way" after a trial at the High Court in London during April and May.
"Sir Cliff had privacy rights in respect of the police investigation, and that the BBC infringed those rights without a legal justification," the judge said.
"I have rejected the BBC's case that it was justified in reporting as it did under its rights to freedom of expression and freedom of the press," he added.
The High Court has directed the BBC to pay 210,000 pounds in general damages, including 20,000 pounds for nominating its coverage of the raid on the singer's home for a Royal Television Society Award.
The costs are expected to mount further once special damages are decided at a hearing on July 26.
The High Court judge said that the damages "for which both parties are responsible" would be borne 35 per cent by South Yorkshire police and 65 per cent by the BBC.
Police officers investigated an allegation made by a man who claimed he was sexually assaulted by Richard at an event at Sheffield United's Bramall Lane in 1985 when he was a child.
South Yorkshire Police had earlier agreed to pay the singer 400,000 pounds after settling a claim he brought against the force. Richard was never arrested or charged over the allegations.
The police worked with the BBC and provided the broadcaster with advance knowledge of the raid following an approach by one of the corporation's journalists, who had learned of the ongoing investigation.
Later, Richard had decided to take the BBC to court over broadcasts of the police raid on his home in Sunningdale, Berkshire, in August 2014.
The singer told the court he was left "shocked and upset" when helicopter footage of officers searching his Berkshire home was screened on BBC news.
"I felt as though everything I had worked for during my life - trying to live as honestly and honourably as I could - was being torn apart. I felt forever tainted. I still do," said the singer, who was not at his UK home at the time of the raid.
Responding to the judgement, South Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Stephen Watson said he accepted the findings and the force accepted and apologised for its mistakes at a "very early stage".
"I would like to take this opportunity to again offer our sincere apologies for the distress Sir Cliff Richard has suffered," he said.
However, the BBC, after the ruling, said that it was planning to appeal the ruling as it went to heart of some press freedom issues, which could lead to suspects under investigation going unreported.
Richard's lawyer, Gideon Benaim, in a statement on the judgement outside the court, questioned the BBC, saying "serious questions" should be asked about why the organisation tried so hard to preserve its "exclusive" story.
His supporters, who had gathered outside the court, sang one of his popular hits, 'Congratulations', after the verdict was announced.
Richard, who burst onto the pop scene in the late 1950s, is the third biggest-selling artist in British singles chart history, behind The Beatles and Presley.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
