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  1. #1
    DF Founder Raptor's Avatar
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    BBC News Cliff Richard: BBC bosses should carry the can

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    Senior BBC managers have to "carry the can", Sir Cliff Richard has said, after winning his privacy case over the coverage of a police raid on his home.
    A High Court judge said the BBC had infringed the singer's privacy rights in a "serious and sensationalist way".
    Sir Cliff was not arrested or charged over the historical child sex claim and told ITV News: "If heads roll then maybe it's because it was deserved."
    The BBC said journalists acted in good faith and it is considering an appeal.
    The judge, Mr Justice Mann, awarded Sir Cliff an initial £210,00.
    He rejected the BBC's case that its reporting of South Yorkshire Police's raid of Sir Cliff's flat in Sunningdale, Berkshire, in August 2014, which included footage filmed from a helicopter, was justified under rights of freedom of expression and of the press.
    Speaking to ITV's Julie Etchingham, Sir Cliff, 77, said: "They [senior managers] have to carry the can. I don't know how they are going to do it, but they'll have to....
    "It's too big a decision to be made badly. It was nonsense."
    'Judge, jury and execut1oner'

    Describing the court's decision as an "enormous relief" and "incredibly emotional", Sir Cliff said his intention behind bringing the case was not to curtail press freedom.
    "I want a correction made to what happened to me and it was made, nobody said anything about freedom of speech but I will fight to the death against the abuse of the freedom of speech, what the BBC did was an abuse... they took it upon themselves to be judge, jury and execut1oner."
    He went on to call for people to have the right to anonymity until they are charged.
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    BBC director of editorial policy and standards David Jordan said resignations were "not necessarily the right response to every mistake that every journalist makes in a news organisation".
    He said the BBC did not regret contesting the case because a "substantial and significant" issue - concerning people being investigated by police - had been at stake.
    But he said elements of the way the original report was presented - such as the length of time the BBC gave Sir Cliff to respond to the claims and "perhaps the use of the helicopter" - might have been done differently.
    Mr Jordan said the BBC will look in depth at the 200-page judgement before deciding on whether or not to appeal.
    Speaking outside the High Court, the BBC's director of news and current affairs Fran Unsworth apologised to Sir Cliff but she said, the case marked a "significant shift" against press freedom and an "important principle" around the public's right to know was at stake.
    In a statement, she said: "Even had the BBC not used helicopter shots or ran the story with less prominence, the Judge would still have found that the story was unlawful; despite ruling that what we broadcast about the search was accurate."
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    In his judgement, Mr Justice Mann said a suspect in a police investigation "has a reasonable expectation of privacy" and while Sir Cliff being investigated "might be of interest to the gossip-monger", there was not a "genuine public interest" case.
    He also said while the case could have a "significant impact on press reporting", it did not mean the law was changing or he was setting a precedent - as the Human Rights Act already covers the issues at stake, namely the right to privacy versus right to freedom of expression.
    He awarded Sir Cliff £190,000 damages and an extra £20,000 in aggravated damages after the BBC submitted its coverage of the raid for an award.
    The BBC must pay 65% of the £190,000 and South Yorkshire Police, which carried out the raid, 35%.
    South Yorkshire Police had earlier agreed to pay Sir Cliff £400,000 after settling a claim he brought against the force.

    Analysis: 'Dark day for news reporting'

    By BBC legal correspondent Clive Coleman
    Today's judgement is very significant.
    The judge found it was not merely the BBC's use of helicopter pictures which breached Sir Cliff's right to privacy. The simple naming of Sir Cliff as a suspect in the police investigation amounted to a breach of his privacy.
    It means, going forward, people who are suspects in police investigations, save in exceptional circumstances, are entitled to reasonably expect the matter is kept private and not covered by the media.
    That is why the BBC is broadening this out and saying, in effect, this is a dark day for news reporting.
    Looking at some of the police investigations covered in the past, the BBC points out that naming the suspects has sometimes resulted in additional complainants coming forward.

    Standing alongside Sir Cliff outside court, his solicitor Gideon Benaim said the singer's motivation was "not for personal gain" but to "right a wrong".
    He said his client had offered to settle earlier with the BBC for "reasonable" damages and an apology, but the BBC had been "defiant".
    Media playback is unsupported on your device

    The case raised "serious questions", he said, about the way BBC management scrutinises the work of its journalists.
    Sir Cliff told reporters he would not comment further at that time, adding: "It's going to take a while to get over the whole emotional factor."
    'Creative limbo'

    South Yorkshire Police chief constable Stephen Watson said he accepted the court's findings and the force accepted and apologised for its mistakes at a "very early stage".
    The judge said he would hold another hearing to determine further damages after the singer said his plans for "professional work" were "seriously disrupted" in the wake of the coverage.
    In his evidence, Sir Cliff had said in the years leading up to August 2014, he had worked regularly, released a new album every 18 months or so and usually played a number of concerts.
    But he said he had been left "in effect in creative limbo" for two years until prosecutors said he would not face any charges.
    Sir Cliff claimed his right to privacy under the Human Rights Act had been violated while the BBC argued that the same act protects freedom of expression.
    The Society of Editors said that the judgement "threatens the ability of the media as a whole to police the police".
    Ian Murray, its executive director, said: "The ruling to make it unlawful that anyone under investigation can be named is a major step and one that has worrying consequences for press freedom and the public's right to know."
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  2. #2
    DF VIP Member BertRoot's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cliff Richard: BBC bosses 'should carry the can'

    We all know the filthy old cunt is a beast but I fear the final exposure will only come when he has been buried like Saville.

    2 Thanks given to BertRoot

    Fear345 (20th July 2018),  I Black Belt (20th July 2018)  


  3. #3
    DF Super Moderator piggzy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cliff Richard: BBC bosses should carry the can

    Did you see what the fucker said in the interview today???

    I quote "10 guilty sex offenders should get away with it before 1 innocent accused suffers!"

    His exact words.

  4. #4
    DF VIP Member Fear345's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cliff Richard: BBC bosses 'should carry the can'

    Quote Originally Posted by BertRoot View Post
    We all know the filthy old cunt is a beast but I fear the final exposure will only come when he has been buried like Saville.
    That cunt Sue Barker knows he's been at it for years, she needs he flaps nailing to the floor.

    Thanks to Fear345

    BertRoot (20th July 2018)  


  5. #5
    Mummy's little soldier I Black Belt's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cliff Richard: BBC bosses should carry the can

    Years ago, a friend in the Navy was based in Manilla and swears that night on night a group of young boys was trooped on and off Cliff's boat that was moored there. He also said Lionel Blair was a visitor too.

    I really hope he was wrong, but like others, I reckon he's a wrong un.

  6. #6
    DF VIP Member DavidF's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cliff Richard: BBC bosses should carry the can

    Our law is/has always been based on better to let 10 guilty walks than one innocent in prison. Of course, EVERYONE disagrees until THEY or someone they know or love has been falsely accused of something serious.....Then they wail what about innocent until proven guilty.....Fuck me just in the last 6 months we have seen hundreds of rape trials chuicked out of court or cancelled due to withheld evidence (dirty scumbags both old bill and "victims").....So to summerise of course there should be no naming of accused until at the very least they have been charged.....Charged means it has at the very least reached a threshold of legitimacy....Even though as we have seen that's far from perfect.

    For the record I haven't been wrongly "accused" but I know at least two people who have one of whom went to prison for 9 months.....The one who went to prison was DEFFO innocent and I know this as he was with ME at the time of the alledged incident in a different town 20 miles away...even giving benefit of doubt over dates and times....this person was 20 miles away and was with me constantly for 48 hours.....Reason for adding this bit on - It may explain my "anger" at this story and people's attitudes to the core behind it.....all good until it happens......ect ect ect.

    3 Thanks given to DavidF

    Bald Bouncer (20th July 2018),  hoponbaby (21st July 2018),  Over Carl (20th July 2018)  


  7. #7
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    ilscuro's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cliff Richard: BBC bosses should carry the can

    Just because Cliff looks like a cunt doesn't make him guilty, surely?

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