The 76-year-old singer Sir Cliff Richard decided to sue both the BBC and the South Yorkshire Police following reports that named him as a suspected sex offender.
Sir Cliff Richard has settled his dispute with the police, according to his lawyers and attention now will be focussed on seeing the BBC in court.
Sir Cliff’s lawyers have informed the court that South Yorkshire Police has agreed to pay ‘substantial damages’ in respect of tits ‘unlawful conduct’ and that the case therefore can be dropped.
BBC chiefs already have said they will “defend ourselves vigorously” while claiming that have a responsibility to report news stories that the deem to be in the public interest and the fact South Yorkshire Police has agreed to make a settlement does not alter the BBC’s stance.
Sir Cliff launched legal action over the coverage of a police raid on his property in Berkshire in August 2014 where the press had been tipped off and live video was broadcast.
Lawyers acting for the star say there has been a misuse of private information, infringement of human right in respect of private life and a breach of data protection legislation.
In 2013, a man made alleged to the Metropolitan Police that he had been sexually assaulted by Sir Cliff at Sheffield United football stadium in 1985.
Metropolitan Police officers passed the allegation to South Yorkshire Police in July 2014 who investigated. No charges were ever brought and the case formally was dropped in June last year.
Justin Rushbrooke QC said South Yorkshire Police should not have made disclosures to the BBC about the investigation into Sir Cliff and should not have colluded with the BBC in the way that they did.
A BBC spokeswoman said, in the wake of Sir Cliff’s settlement with police, that editors felt there had been a duty to report the investigation into the singer, “We’ve said throughout that the BBC’s responsibility is to report news stories that are in the public interest.”
“Against the extensive disclosure of historic child sexual abuse by figures of high public prominence, we consider that the report into the investigation into Sir Cliff for such an offence, and the decision by police to search his premises was such a news story and that the BBC had a duty to report it.”
The spokesperson added, “The police decision to settle the claim against them by Sir Cliff because of how they handled the investigation doesn’t change the fundamental principle that journalistic organisations should be able to report on the police and police investigations into individuals.
A search happened, and because it did, the BBC reported it – just as any other media organisation would have and did.”
