Sir Cliff Richard receives £2million from BBC legal battle – but spent £4.5million on case

SIR Cliff Richard has settled his legal battle with the BBC for £2million — less than half the £4.5million he spent on legal fees.

The singer, 78, had been locked in a battle with the broadcaster over its live TV coverage of a police raid on his home in 2014.

Last year Sir Cliff won a privacy case against the Beeb and the judge ordered the corporation to pay £210,000 in damages.

It originally agreed to give £850,000 towards the singer’s costs but that figure soared.

The BBC, which also paid £315,000 to South Yorkshire Police for its legal costs, said the case had now come to “its conclusion”, the Daily Mirror reports.

A spokesman for Sir Cliff Richard said: Sir Cliff incurred these costs over a five year period as a direct result of the actions of the BBC and South Yorkshire Police.

"He is of course glad that an agreement about costs has now been reached.

"Ultimately, however, Sir Cliff is substantially out of pocket (a seven figure sum), not least because there are costs that he has not sought to recover from the parties."

The pay-out came just days after the singer revealed that he had spent £4.5million fighting his case.

LEGAL WAR OVER BBC TV RAID

The BBC had apologised to Sir Cliff for the distress it had caused but said the court ruling raised “questions for Press freedom”.

Sir Cliff took action after the BBC was tipped off about a raid on his home in Berkshire in 2014, covering it live from a helicopter.

It followed allegations the veteran star had committed a sex offence in 1985 — but he was never arrested or charged.

A man made an allegation to the Metropolitan Police in late 2013, saying Sir Cliff had sexually assaulted him at Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane football stadium in 1985 when he was a child.

Officers from the Met then passed the allegation to South Yorkshire Police in July 2014.

Sir Cliff was on holiday in Portugal at the time of the raid.

He has said the coverage was “heartbreaking” and “intrusive”.

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