Whatever Happened To That Cliff Richard Case?

All the evidence has been heard. Awaiting the judges decision. Reports on 9th May said it may take a few weeks. Not sure why? Clearly an important case for the future so quite a bit for the judge to ponder but still seems a long time.

maybe it will get a summer holiday

Maybe they don't talk anymore

Maybe the court's electricity is playing up and they are not 'wired for sound'.......

How many License fees have the Beeb paid him

Maybe some more allegations have come up ?

Allegedly ?

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https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/17/cliff-richard-bbc-court-case-police-press-media

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The majority of journalists, even those who are hostile to the BBC and all its works, understand why. If Richard’s action were to succeed, the ramifications for press freedom and, as a corollary, for open justice, are awful to contemplate.

It could create a situation in which the media would be unable to report the early stages of police investigations, such as revealing the identity of arrested people. They would enjoy anonymity until and unless they were charged.

This would be a fundamental change to custom and practice. It would have the effect of allowing police officers to operate in secrecy and would deny journalists the right to scrutinise the activities of the police.

The media’s role as a public watchdog, holding power to account and acting on behalf of the public interest, would be fatally compromised.

they can report an investigation without flying a helicopter over his house

Amazing How they Turned against Essentially one of their own

"They would enjoy anonymity until and unless they were charged"

100% how it should be. Less we want the no smoke without fire brigade to run amok.

Even if you trust plod to get their facts right, you've still got to allow those facts to be established, before the media is invited to the circus.

I'm with doantwin2easy on this. I believe anonymity is very important for the perpetrator until and if he or she is convicted. Look at that dreadful case some years ago in Bristol I think it was where this landlord/teacher was to all intents and purposes found guilty by the press because basically of his looks. 'Well he looks like a weirdo killer, so he must be guilty.' It was later found out that it was some Dutch guy who lived in the same flats as the victim. Meanwhile the poor ostracised innocent victim who was falsely accused was hounded by the international press.

Needless to say he received a large sum of money in compensation, but it's exactly for cases like that that anonymity is crucial in my view. The same here with the Cliff Richard case. An innocent man's life in ruins because of all the publicity.