British pop icon Cliff Richard wants people suspected of sex crimes to be granted anonymity until charged, saying his life was thrown into turmoil by false allegations splashed across the media.
Richard was interviewed in 2014 by police investigating an alleged sex assault. He was never arrested or charged, but footage of his house being raided — some of it shot from a helicopter — was broadcast widely. He successfully sued the BBC for invasion of privacy over the broadcaster's coverage.
British police don't formally identify suspects until they are charged, but names frequently become public. Victims in sex crime cases are granted legal anonymity but a similar provision for suspects was removed in 1988.
Richard and BBC broadcaster Paul Gambaccini, who was arrested in 2013 over abuse claims that were later dropped, launched a petition urging a "rebalancing of the legal system". If it gets 100,000 signatures it will be considered for a debate in Parliament.
Richard, 78, said: "When you know you didn't do it, you feel you're in a hole you can't get out of. My reputation, it seemed to me at that stage, was absolutely in tatters."
