I’m bound to say that ever since I heard details of the raid on Cliff Richard I’ve become increasingly concerned.
As Cliff Richard said himself in his own statement, there have been ‘rumours’ circulating around the internet for the last 20 months. Like many I have been aware of them but I’ve not seen any evidence that might substantiate them.
The allegation from Sheffield in 1985 which was the reason for the house search is a new one to me and was not part of these widespread internet rumours.
I’m not surprised that South Yorkshire Police worked with the BBC but I am surprised that they did it so blatantly. As a consequence this could cause huge problems for the police force. It is very difficult to imagine what kind of evidence the police hoped to secure from this search almost 30 years after the alleged event took place. It is said that Cliff Richard had no warning of the search but he was aware of the rumours and therefore cogniscant of the possibility that his home might be searched.
So, if the purpose of the raid was not to find evidence then what was it ?
It is increasingly looking like the entire purpose was to publicly link Cliff Richard’s name to an allegation of child abuse in the hope that other witnesses may come forward.
Even if criminal charges do follow, Cliff Richard may have a legal case against South Yorkshire Police but if charges are not made then it’ll be the taxpayer who’ll foot the bill if this police gamble fails and Cliff Richard decides to sue .
Anyway, below is a link to an opinion piece by Geoffrey Robertson QC in today’s Independent concerning this very issue.
The view from the BBC helicopter.
People believe that where there’s smoke there’s fire, but sometimes there is just a smoke machine.
By treating Cliff Richard as though he were a bank robber or a mass murderer, the police from Thames Valley and South Yorkshire, aided and abetted by the BBC and a Sheffield lay justice, have blasted his reputation around the world without giving him the first and most basic right to refute the allegation.
Last year, apparently, a complaint was made to police that the singer had indecently assaulted a youth in Sheffield a quarter of a century ago. The police had a duty to investigate, seek any corroborating evidence, and then – and only if they had reasonable grounds to suspect him of committing an offence – to give him the opportunity to refute those suspicions before a decision to charge is made.
But here, police subverted due process by waiting until Richard had left for vacation, and then orchestrating massive publicity for the raid on his house, before making any request for interview and before any question could arise of arresting or charging him.
More at The Independent
theneedleblog 
Will Cliff Richard have to be extradited to stand trial because he is no longer a British citizen and is a Caribbean resident. How bad are things for him really? Looks like he’s ahead of the game to me.
surely the police acted lawfully, they applioed for and got a search warrant and then searched said property….. if they had done it without a warrant it may have been a different story.
It looks like they did not contact Richard first. I find it all highly questionable that these two police forces would cock up such a massive sting accidentally on such elementary protocol. And the BBC is well aware that their presence at the raid seriously threatens the validity of any case now made from it. It’s an illusion for Christs sake. Smoke and mirrors. Think Magic Circle people.
The Leicester branch?
I think that is a reasonable take on what happened
Parliamentary inquiry launched:
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/aug/19/cliff-richard-bbc-tony-hall-david-crompton-police-inquiry
So if it were a deliberate action within the BBC to distract and cover other things up, then it’s proceeding like clockwork to the best place for this to happen.
it isnt flagged on text but if one knows to look for it it is still there on line
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28836630
it may be a coincidence but yesterday righton got two versions of a mention on the bbc teletext news summary,one pointing out that he should be at the centre of the overview inquiry into failure to prevent systemic abuse of kids in care ,the other version flagging up that he had been required to resign from his teaching job(due to allegations of abusing kids which we can assume were well founded allegations)before he was appointed as a senior adviser to the government in relation to kids in care and custody.
neither of these mentions are still on teletext although other items from yesterday are still there.
was yesterday a good day to hide bad news?
ps his “landlord”of later years got no mention in either item
Did the police act illegally to deliberately undermine any evidence they find there? Do they want to invalidate certain lines of enquiry that could come up from the search.
I am with you Pendantic Geek. Seems so bloody obvious to me.
A witch hunt by common definition is “a campaign directed against a person or group holding views considered unorthodox or a threat to society.”
Investigation and inquiry into possible abuse of vulnerable children, and/ or cover up of that abuse – by celebrities and/or other powerful, connected individuals and groups – hardly fits this definition. These people are a protected and privileged elite, and are emphatically NOT considered a threat to society.
Unfortunately, victims of abuse and whistleblowers who threaten the status quo by seeking to bring these powerful individuals and groups to justice are, indeed, very much seen as a direct threat.
I have decided to sell my extensive Cliff Richard collection of records and CDs and donate the proceeds to Childline.
OPERATION HYDRANT… AND THE DEMAND FOR GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE’S, CHIEF CONSTABLE SIR PETER FAHY TO STAND DOWN!
http://shirlz007.com/2014/08/17/operstion-hydrant-and-the-demand-for-greater-manchester-polices-chief-constable-sir-peter-fahy-to-stand-down/
The great celebrity witch-hunt has put on show some of the most deplorable aspects of the British justice system and it would certainly not be tolerated in most European countries. Time limits prevent prosecutions of most sexual offences after 10 years because fair trials become increasingly difficult as memories dim, alibi witnesses die and records disappear. Cliff Richard has had his reputation trashed by the police from Thames Valley and South Yorkshire, aided and abetted by the BBC and an untrained lay Justice of the Peace. The relevant code: “The officer in charge of the search shall first try to communicate with the occupier.” was subverted by the police waiting until Richard had left for vacation. Also the law requires the JP to be satisfied there is material on the premises of relevance and substantial value (to prove a 25 year old indecent assault – you cannot be serious!). Police and prosecutors will now circumvent an even older law, Magna Carta’s promise that justice will not be delayed, by leaving Cliff Richard twisting in the wind for years.
to jucameron- so who are you then?
I think South Yorkshire Police are a force in disarray. A woman in our town (Bei Carter) who ran a guest house was murdered by a man who S.Y. Police wanted. The man had raped 10 times in a day! If S.Y. Police had alerted the public Bei Carter would not have let him into her home. In my opinion Bei S.Y. Police are culpable of her murder and I hope her family take them to the cleaners.
Cliff Richard abuse allegations investigated by Police for over a YEAR… The Mirror
‘Sources close to the star said he was fully aware of the claims and even considered going public to help clear his name before last week’s raid’
Cliff Richard case: police receive new information – The Guardian
‘Police deny leaking details of raid on entertainer’s home and say ‘a number of people’ have come forward’
Sir Cliff Richard ‘Banned from US’ During Child Sex Abuse Inquiry- Yahoo
‘Sir Cliff Richard could be banned from travelling to the US to make his annual trip to the US Open while allegations that he sexually abused a young boy are investigated by police.
The 73-year-old pop singer is likely to be prevented from entering the US states while police investigate allegations that Sir Cliff abused a boy aged under 16 at a gospel concert in 1985 during a rally by Christian evengelist Billy Graham.’
Cliff Richard: Police defend raid on home and say publicity led to fresh contacts
Police investigating an allegation against Sir Cliff Richard of sexual assault said on Friday that “a number of people” have ‘come forward with information following a search of the singer’s home.’
Police Commissioner to examine Cliff Richard inquiry – ITV
‘The Police and Crime Commissioner in South Yorkshire is to examine the chain of events in the force’s handling of the Sir Cliff Richard sex offence inquiry amid growing concerns about the presence of the media at the singer’s house when officers carried out searches there on Thursday.
Shaun Wright says questions need to be asked abut the source of the original leak, which he says put the force in “a difficult position when approached by the media.”…
CLIFF RICHARD (we’ll drop the ‘Sir’) has been under investigation for over a year…
http://shirlz007.com/2014/08/17/cliff-richard-well-drop-the-sir-has-been-under-investigation-for-over-a-year-fuck-off-cliff-you-vile-disgusting-depraved-little-creature/
Tony Hall Director General of the BBC is a clever animal as it turns out from just a peek at Wikipedia (what an imaginative researcher I am eh!) anyway peek yourselves this man would be more than aware of the implications of reportage as the raid was taking place. He is a cross bench member of the house of lords and was asked to inquire into the MOD’s media strategy in 2007. If he dosn’t stir up a big civil liberties, role and responsibilities of the press debate then I’ll eat me trowel and tooth brush. This will no doubt eventually only serve to silence and tame the mainstream press all the more. It was frankly futile to have them there and has limited damage to him.
Saturday night piece of music! (numerous
‘When Johnny Comes Marching Home!’ (I watched over 15 hours of PBS’s ‘The Civil War’)
Civil War style…
Piano piece…
Die Hard With a Vengeance!
South Yorkshire Police did the right thing in my opinion (IM RED ROSE!)
Looks to me like Cliff Richards has been used as an establishment decoy before. A guy called John Pearson was going to write a book at the request of the Krays and Ronnie Kray had been very candid about his relationship with Lord Bob Boothby and had told Pearson to get a suitcase of correspondence from Boothby from Violet Kray. Pearson says by the end of 1971 the book was nearly finished. He ended up being burgled and intimidated by favorite Westminster solicitor Arnold Goodman and rewrote the book leaving out any reference to the Boothby case. Just in case I sound as if I’m a thundering authority or trying to be I’ll tell you that it was just a mail online article by Pearson that I stumbled across and have read the bag of dirty pictures story a few times on line so I put two and two together and baked youse a cake.
I’m thinking The Krays were imprisoned in 1969. They were clearly in the mood to talk if this book was nearly finished by the end of ’71. In 1970 all those pictures of Cliff Richards in womens underwear and surrounded by boys is alleged to have turned up at a large London Railway station and was taken to a police station to be taken away by what was thought to be MI5 (though why they would bother who knows so). Now was it an old case of bring out the celebs first and that will hide the Boothby which will hide Tom Driberg? It can’t be a new game and it works on us I wonder have the police acted with a degree of dodgy practice to the same ends? Get us all chattering and squabbling over civil liberties get people to come out of the woodwork control who they finger rather than just have more and more people who were used and as abused see these blogs and randomly start telling everyone to their local MP to some bloke they got pissed with after work.
No one has answered to me the obvious question – what was a force in the north doing raiding a house in the south? Why didn’t Berkshire Police carry out the raid?
I find the whole thing highly unprofessional to be honest.
The investigating force is always the one where the alleged offence took place, not where the suspect lives.
Sorry, but the ‘obvious’ question might relate to the Met’s absence in this affair as Rocks Lane Barnes is a long way from Yorkshire.
Rattus Smellus; Innit Bruv
The alleged crime took place in Sheffield, hence the involvement of South Yorkshire Police. Thames Valley Police, the local force, was also involved in the raid.
Cliff Richard House Search: Did The Police Act Illegally ?
One might postulate, particularly with ’20 months’ of preparation time, a soupscon of crisis-management might be going down here.
Beware, perhaps, of the reverse double ferret.
Cave Canem!!!
Did the Police act illegally?
They appeared before a magistrate and made an application, the application succeeded and a warrant was issued, the police executed the warrant.
The Police are rightly castigated for their abject failures in these matters not to mention instances of culpability on their part, they now face criticism for carrying out their duties, it’s no wonder that constables and even junior or mid ranking officers take the view that they should shut up and follow the last order they received, to do otherwise they risk their jobs and promotion prospects perhaps even their own safety while to do otherwise they would fall outside of the safety of the clan without any consideration whatsoever by the media the judiciary or their fellow citizens.
Blinky blonky blimey guv I’m only doing m’job seems to be the right decision!
by tipping off the press id say they clearly did act illegally they should of waited til they had found something if they found something to do that.
Which act of parliament did they breach?
There is an unsavoury tone to some of the correspondence here. A tendency to relish an ‘establishment’ figure being as badly treated as one of ‘us’. Class has no bearing here. Either the behaviour of the police is proper or it is not, either they are justified in raiding a man’s home because of an historic allegation, and alerting the press and trawling for ‘evidence’ – or they are not. The status of the man under suspicion is irrelevant. The pattern throughout Yewtree and associated investigations is for the police (lacking solid and corroborated evidence to go to court) to publicise an enquiry prompted on slender grounds in order to provoke others into coming forward, in order to build a case hitherto lacking. The people coming forward might have dubious motives. Either way, I cannot see that this is an edifying way for the authorities to behave, and it may be found eventually to be illegal. The behaviour of the BBC is another matter. They hired a helicopter at out expense in order to show a few pictures of a big house from the air. Profligate? And they have effectively conspired with West Yorks police to build a case against Cliff Richard. That role is not part of their Charter.
Not so much the walls tumbling down as the shutters going up!
Didn’t I read on this blog after the MM docs were released on the interweb that Mr Webb could be a person of interest to the Yewtree/Fernbridge investigation?
Yes, and you’ve just read that I investigated those rumours and found that they couldn’t be substantiated.
Not just me BTW but also the author of the MM docs felt that those allegations couldn’t be substantiated.
Thanks for the response. Sabre’s comment was not showing when I made my post.
If this episode is being orchestrated, and Mr Webb is only guilty of mixing with some very bad people, is this mindless distraction or is something more sinister?
you mean that you could not substantiate them .
All of this stuff is historic, most of the allegations are against high profile individuals with reputations to protect, evidence is going to be very difficult to come by, if the search for evidence is deemed unjust we might as well all shut up and get back to discussion of Gaza, Ukraine, Real v Paper gold and other interesting issues.
Did Geoffrey Robinson QC moan about a 3 month time constraint between CPS receiving files re the murder of Steven Lawrence and the SECOND prosecution of the accused? So much for autrefois acquit (800 years of English law)
A volte face ? Naming the living part 2 no longer available here but quoted on many other websites ( before my caution re implicated/ person of interest). Allusions to Cliff Richard/ Fernbridge/ warrant, surely that was an historic case?
As, I wrote. I investigated the rumours and found that they could not be substantiated and that the author of those docs felt that those particular allegations held no water.
Why did the author of those docs author them then? Can any of those docs be relied on?
Do any substantial allegations exist at all?
The author was Chris Fay and they were private notes never meant for publication. Chris Fay didn’t put them online.
And yes, everyone should be careful about them. Chris himself has said that.
Really ?
i hope that the truth about cliff is established whatever it may be .
being deeply suspicious of the way both the police/ legal process and the msn and non ms media have been “managed”in relation to these issues i wonder if there is an element of distraction to the timing of this event as well as the possibility it was a well intended but morally/legally dubious attempt by the investigating police officers to fish for information from potential witnesses if there are any.
what are we supposed to be distracted from might be a good question.a few things that seem to have cropped up recently include:
allegations about the ex cabinet minister and the ex customs officer.
allegations of many varieties about various other ex cabinet ministers and political players.
assorted spookery.
a few palace staff.
savile and his very posh chums,
savile and his political chums.
the jersey historical inquiry.
the effectiveness and brief of ni inquiry.
the questions as to who baked the pie.
the extent of the issues regarding kids in care
the international issues.
the who could chair a uk wide inquiry and what would it’s brief be?
etc,etc, etc ,
it does seem there is a lot to be distracted from and throwing an innocent until proven otherwise celeb to the wolves of the msn does seem to have got the crowd’s attention,
as sabre pointed out in another thread the north wales trial dates have been announced for the first batch of accused and seems to have slipped under the radar while folk are looking at berkshire.
Legally, the coppers are on very dodgy grounds of course and it’s hardly surprising that the toffs in the media and government are all up in arms about him being treating like a commoner, with no respect being shown to a fellow wealthy person’s property (which is the sacred cornerstone of a capitalist society). Let’s face it however, in the real world there are police raids every minute of every day and night but since the victims are usually black and working class such violations simply get taken for granted as the way of the world.
He is a commoner, a lot of idiots bought a lot of crap music which made him wealthy as compared to the majority, The Billionaires run this world not millionaires, he has one vote and no one knows if he exercises it.
IF he is being protected it is because of links to truly influential individuals, perhaps through a common interest !
The likes of your good self with their endless proselytising to the effect that ethnic minorities should be special cases, LGBT should be special cases and virtually everyone ( except white working class heterosexuals) should be special cases have effected the divide et impera strategy that the neoliberal laissez faire global capitalists could only have wet dreams about !
No shit. Any way they hung him out to dry once before in 1970. The pictures in the station. Look he is on his way down, he knows it and we know it and they’ll hand us a big fat show biz fish and hope that will keep the public (what ever their ethnicity) picking over it all for a while. Maybe he thought he was protected for a long time too but their are much more important backs to cover than his and he may have found the goal posts shifting.
The Krays were procuring for the establishment but they still got banged up because they got too big for their boots and we’ve had the whole “oh God lets wring our hands over whether it was just the Seventies or was it really more disgusting taking advantage of the vulnerable” carry on to distract us for a while by making more of a Coronation Street actor and Dave Lee Travis than accusations against Grenville Janner in the press. It’s smoke and mirrors by the super powerful er to quote global capitalists.
Though Milly is to my mind correct though that getting into a debate about whether or not he should have been raided is a bit daft. People get raided in an arbitrary way all the time and then again some don’t. Sorry but I don’t trust the police with the very odd exception and he is in Ayr. I can’t be bothered debating whether they have cocked up there will be all sorts of orders flying about the boys in blue will be following orders as per usual. Basically lets not take our eyes off the prize. The downfall of the establishment. Lets not get distracted
Trillionaires run this world.Billionaires make the tea.
It’s my understanding, and I’m in no way an expert, that the police can’t act on one allegation, there has to be some form of corroboration or a clear pattern of behaviour. This one allegation from 1985 clearly isn’t enough to act on so it does feel like the police are fishing.
On the other hand the rumours/allegations surrounding EGH have been around a while so you would hope that victims might have gained the courage to come forward knowing that people were talking about Cliff in this way and maybe the police would listen.
The police can act on one allegation.
The safeguard is supposed to be the independent Crown Authority of the judiciary. The issue of a warrant. The warrant is then in effect a Judicial Order or Authority to Police to comply.
The police can act but would the cps take it to trial?
.
Must admit I’m rather perplexed by the reaction to this as it’s been standard practice for years. Anyone who lives in London will regularly see the Met Police bashing down doors and raiding houses on the local evening news.
If you’re lucky you might even see Major Boris Johnson joining in:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2001046/Boris-Johnson-police-raiders-bust-drugs-suspect-Rambo.html
And if you happen to be related to an infamous London gangster then any presumptions of innocence can be ignored in the reporting too:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2595163/Police-swoop-notorious-Adams-Family-dawn-raids.html
So why has Cliff received such a sympathetic coverage? It couldn’t have anything to do with his engaging of PR company PHA media, specialists in crisis management, 18 months ago?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11038288/Sir-Cliff-Richards-devoted-team-rally-round.html
Thanks Kevin. So glad someone has argued against this ridiculous furore over BBC/Police link up on the Cliff Richard search. Quite clearly an attempt to distract from the issue at stake – allegations of child sex abuse have been made against a celebrity with wealth, connections and links to Number 10, and the police are not ignoring these allegations but are actually acting on them, for once.
If Richard is innocent he should appreciate the chance to clear his good name of all the internet rumours.
When you associate with the type of nasty people that he has done, in the past? it’s no wonder their is Doubt in His holy than Thou Self important Image!
Jon, you assume from what you say that if there was evidence then there was time to get rid of it.
Rumours about Rolf Harris, including his art sellers taking our insurance in case his work became worthless, were online for years as you know.
But they still found evidence on his computer didn’t they. Sadly ignored for some reason, but it was there.
So the police were entirely right to raid his home.
Hi BB,
I don’t think the Rolf Harris situation is comparable.
I generally approve of publicising an alleged abuser’s identity. However, in the case of Stuart Hall, he was arrested.
They didn’t find evidence on his computer, the defence had this covered and had managed to track down the porn actresses concerned and had determined that they were all 18 or over ! If the abuse images had been legit, there is no way that the cps would not have continued with the charges at trial but they didn’t because they knew they would lose.
RE Harris images: I thought the Defence had a suppression order because they claimed the girls COULD have been over 18. Of course the websites claimed their models were over 18, otherwise they would have been breaking the law but nobody had actually checked and considering the names of some of the sites it would be surprising if they were older – in fact, according to the prosecution, images of genitalia of some of the models were medically assessed to be 13yrs.
You can substantiate that?
The defence said there was no evidence that the girls were under age. That’s is not the same.
Also, it wasn’t just photos of girls, but photos of boys.
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jul/04/rolf-harris-websites-indecent-images-children
The content of the suppression order was in the Australian press – link above explains a bit more
personally I don’t care. if this releases an avalanche of people coming forward then it will be worth it. rich and powerful people have been able to subvert justice using superinjunctions and still do. that’s not fair either.
Would you care if it had happened to you, or would you be just as sanguine?
It is happening increasingly to ordinary Joe Bloggs. It is a very worrying trend. As you have noticed I am still here the false allegation against me was dropped before trial due to inconsistencies in the accusers story, in other words the police/cps realised it was bull shit. I wasn’t allowed to see my family for a year and it cost me £20 000 in legal costs. If they can do this to someone as high profile as Cliff Richard what of the rest of us,
This article hints at where the tip off originated not really suprising to be honest http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11038267/Sir-Cliff-Richard-investigation-police-defend-televised-raid-on-singers-home.html
Whilst it certainly does appear that the police forces orchestrated the search to ensure a mass of publicity in order to encourage witnesses and other historical victims to come forward, the comment made by paul M is a valid observation. For too many years it has been frustratingly apparent that the powerful and privileged have used position and the legal system to escape justice.
Allegedly malicious warrant raids were pretty much the norm for complainants about 6th Thanet Gun range in Kent. One such on my mate the late Bill True (a self builder who lived next to the range and had called in MOD over Kent Police heads to get the range licence withdrawn) 16 officers descended on his home. It took him a while to find out the warrant seemed to refer to intelligence about stolen car radios. Whereas a triumphant officer shouted out he had found bags of Bill’s ordnance evidence which supported his serious case against range activity.
As indeed was press accompaniment to police and benefits joint raids on suspected dole fiddlers.
On the other hand advance knowledge of warrant raids also reached the targets of the raids when it came to back street drugs factories in Kent. Thus ensuring failures of such warrant raids.
To try to keep you on the hymn sheet with paedo concerns there is, as you may know, a question about the Desmond Tutu Commission of Inquiry 1994 which looked at nazi recruited mercenaries attacking Mandela Regime in 1993. Were these mercenaries prepared and trained (such as at gun ranges) and despatched from Kent ? Were the notorious Parker twin paedos among that mercenary group ?
Of course Nelson Mandela in 1993 was busy making a state visit and meeting Doreen Lawrence a fortnight after Stephen Lawrence was killed.
Now we have to ask did Nelson know about David Cameron and Dr David Kelly mission a couple of years earlier to ensure he would inherit a South Africa disarmed of nuclear capability. Was he concerned about the history of South Africa arming the loyalist paramilitary UDA ?
Of special interest is that defending UDA hit men at the David Norris murder trial (that started six days before Stephen Lawrence was killed) was barrister Michael Mansfield who soon double hatted as Doreen Lawrence barrister. The police witnesses at that ongoing murder trial became the senior investigating officers in the Lawrence case as the murder trial continued.
We don’t know if the mercs in Kent were busily preparing to attack the Mandela Regime at the time Nelson was actually state visiting here and meeting Doreen Lawrence. But the UDA hit men trial began with Met arrests where in 1992 ? Just up the road from 6th Thanet Gun range Margate Kent. Margate the base for UDA hit men and drugs importers. isn’t it strange that possibly related later warrant raids on suspected E manufacturing workshops in Kent were not leaked to press but leaked to the targets of the raids. It seems to me that the QC you quote is a bit confused. Warrants are issued but do not have to be disclosed to targets because demonstrably that undermines the purpose of a warrnt raid.