Singer Cliff Richard won a privacy case against the BBC and has been awarded an initial $273,800 in damages from the network for its reporting of the entertainer being investigated about historical child sex assault claims, The Guardian reported Wednesday.
High Court Justice Anthony Mann awarded Richard $247,720 in damaging and the remainder in aggravated damages for the BCC decision to nominate its story for the Royal Television Society's scoop of the year award, The Guardian wrote.
Mann charged that the BBC violated Richard's right to privacy in a "serious" and also "somewhat sensationalist way," CNN reported.
"I have rejected the BBC's case that it was justified in reporting as it did under its rights to freedom of expression and freedom of the press," Mann added, per CNN.
The ruling comes nearly four years after the BBC News reported that South Yorkshire Police had searched the singer's home in relation to the accusation.
"I'm choked up," Richard said after the ruling, where he attended with friends Gloria Hunniford and Paul Gambaccini, The Guardian wrote. "I can't believe it. It's wonderful news."
The BBC vowed that it would appeal, The Guardian reported.
Richard denied charges that he sexually assaulted a young boy following a Billy Graham rally in Sheffield in 1985, The Guardian wrote. No charges were ever filed, leading the singer to file several lawsuits.
The entertainer and the South Yorkshire police settled out of court for $521,500 before the start of the trial, The Guardian wrote.
While the BBC said that it would appeal, it apologized to Richard "for the distress" he suffered from its coverage, CNN reported.
"(The judgement) creates new case law and represents a dramatic shift against press freedom and the long-standing ability of journalists to report on police investigations, which in some cases has led to further complainants coming forward," the BBC statement said, according to CNN.
"… On reflection there are things we would have done differently," the BBC added. "It will make it harder to scrutinize the conduct of the police and we fear it will undermine the wider principle of the public's right to know."
The BBC News wrote that Conservative Parliament member Anna Soubry called for a law change where the media would be prevented from naming suspects in such investigations until they are charged.
Prime Minister Theresa May, though, said it was a very "difficult issue" and needed "careful judgement," the BBC said.
"There may well be cases where the publication of a name enables other victims to come forward and therefore strengthen a case," the prime minister said, per the BBC.
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