Cliff Richard wins case against BBC for televising police raid on his home

British singer Cliff Richard won210,000 pounds (around $362,000 Cdn) in damages on Wednesday after London'sHigh Court ruled the BBC had breached his privacy by televisinga raid on his house that he said had damaged his reputation andleft him feeling violated.

The BBC aired footage of detectives searching his home in August2014 while Richard, 77, one of Britain's best-known entertainers, was away on holiday as part of an investigationinto allegations of historical child sex offences.

I have rejected the BBC's case that it was justified inreporting as it did.- Justice Anthony Mann

Richard was never arrested or charged with any crime. Police don't normally identify people suspected of crimes in Britain until they are charged.Richard, who maintained his innocence throughoutthe investigation, began legal action over the BBC's reportingof the case.

The BBC disputed his claims, and editors said the coverage was done in good faith.

BBC director of news Fran Unsworth said the story was accurate, and that the decision will affect every news media organization in Britain. The broadcaster will consider an appeal.

"It will make it harder to scrutinize the conduct of the police, and we fear it will undermine the wider principle of the public's right to know. It will put decision-making in the hands of the police," she said. "We don't believe this is compatible with liberty and press freedoms, something that has been at the heart of this country for generations."

Lawyer Emma Woollcott with the firm Mishcon de Reya said the judgment "vindicates" Richard's view that the BBC's reporting was intrusive. She said the judge acknowledged there was legitimate public interest in reporting investigations of historic sex abuse, but that the BBC's reporting was excessive.

"No doubt we will now see further claims from high-profile individuals who have suffered intensive media coverage and public scrutiny," she said.

Handing down his judgment, Justice Anthony Mann said the BBChad infringed on Richard's privacy rights "without a legal justification."

"It did so in a serious and also in a somewhatsensationalist way," he said in his judgment.

"I have rejected the BBC's case that it was justified inreporting as it did under its rights to freedom of expression and freedom of the press."

Life was 'hugely affected'

Richard, born Harry Webb in 1940 and who was often calledBritain's Elvis Presley early in his career, cried as the verdict was delivered and hugged supporters in the courtroom.

He appeared outside the London courthouse, but was too emotional to speak, saying it was "going to take a little while" before he would beprepared to fully comment. As he left, fans who had gathered to support him sang a refrain of his song Congratulations, one of his 14 U.K.No. 1 singles.

Richard is the only singer to have topped the U.K. singleschart in five consecutive decades, from the 1950s to the '90s, withhits such as Living Dolland Summer Holiday. He wasknighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1995.

Richard told the court he had felt violated and betrayed bythe broadcast, and had suffered illness from the stress it caused.His lawsuit said he suffered "profound" damage to his reputation.

"I accept all this evidence. It adds up to a life that washugely affected for almost two years by loss of public status and reputation, embarrassment, stress, upset and hurt, with someconsequential health effects," Mann said in his ruling.

"All this is entirely understandable. None of it resultsfrom oversensitivity. I also accept that practically all ofthis was caused by the BBC's broadcasting the story in the firstplace."

A review by lawmakers on a parliamentary committee inOctober 2014 criticized what it called the police's "inept handling" of the situation, but said there had been nothingwrong in the BBC's decision to run the story.

Before the High Court trial, South Yorkshire Police agreedto pay Richard 400,000 pounds (nearly $700,000 Cdn) for its role in the incident.