Director General Tony Hall refuses to apologise for coverage of raid on Sir Cliff Richard’s home
The entertainer was left suicidal by the allegations - but BBC stands by its decision to broadcast police investigation
BBC boss Tony Hall has refused to apologise to Sir Cliff Richard for airing live coverage of a raid on his home amid sex offence allegations that left him suicidal.
Millions of viewers were shown scenes of police entering the singer’s apartment with BBC reporters already on the scene providing running commentary.
A BBC helicopter circled the penthouse as an investigation by Yorkshire Police into historic child sex offences unfolded on TV.
But despite Sir Cliff never being charged, the director-general says the BBC stands by its coverage.
Lord Hall said: "Well, we've said two things publicly.
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"On one hand, we've said Sir Cliff - who is a fabulous entertainer and has done great things for the BBC over very many years - we've said we're sorry for the stress he's been caused over the last couple of years.
"We've also said that the Home Affairs Select Committee reviewed - they had myself, James (Purnell) and others in front of them including South Yorkshire Police (SYP).
"They reviewed our decisions and said we see nothing wrong in the BBC decision to run the story, and I think that's right.
"If the police are investigating a matter which is of public interest and concern then we should report that.
"And by the way, it's not just us, it's all our colleagues in broadcast media and newspapers as well.
"That's all I really want to say, yes, we have received a letter... and we will respond to that in due course".
When asked if there would be an apology to Sir Cliff, he said: "I've said what I said."
This weekend Sir Cliff confirmed that he planned to sue the BBC and South Yorkshire Police over live coverage of the raid at his home.
The 75-year-old was never arrested or charged over historic sex offences, but the raid led to him being publicly named as part of the probe.
In June, the Crown Prosecution Service dismissed the case on grounds of insufficient evidence.
Both the BBC and South Yorkshire Police have apologised to the singer.
Speaking to reporters at the launch of the BBC's annual report, Lord Hall said the BBC would "respond in due course" to a letter received from Sir Cliff's team.
A statement from the BBC on June 21 said it "applied normal editorial judgments" to covering the story, but added: "The BBC is very sorry that Sir Cliff Richard, who has worked as a musician and performer for so many years with the organisation, has suffered distress."
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