Richard v British Broadcasting Corporation
A person under police investigation generally has a reasonable expectation of privacy in respect of that fact, and the BBC was liable for its broadcast of a police search of Sir Cliff Richard's home.
Facts
In 2014, South Yorkshire Police searched an apartment in Berkshire owned by Sir Cliff Richard, the singer, in connection with a historical allegation of a sexual offence. A BBC reporter had learned of the investigation and the planned search, and the BBC filmed the search from a helicopter and broadcast extensive coverage of it, naming Sir Cliff. He was never arrested or charged, and the investigation was dropped. He sued the BBC and the police for misuse of private information. The police settled his claim, and the claim against the BBC went to trial.
Legal principle
Mann J held that the BBC was liable. He said that, as a general rule, a suspect has a reasonable expectation of privacy in relation to a police investigation, because of the damage to reputation which is likely to follow from the publication of the fact that a person is under investigation, even though the presumption of innocence applies. Sir Cliff's status as a public figure did not remove that expectation. The BBC's right to freedom of expression did not outweigh his right to privacy, because, although there was a public interest in the investigation in general, the publication of his identity and the sensational manner of the coverage were not justified. Sir Cliff was awarded general damages of 190,000 pounds, including for the damage to his reputation, and 20,000 pounds aggravated damages.
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