Cliff Richard will not face sex abuse charges

Singer Sir Cliff Richard will face no further action over allegations of historical sex abuse, prosecutors said.

The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service said it had “carefully reviewed” the case and decided there was “insufficient evidence to prosecute”.

Sir Cliff said he was “obviously thrilled that the vile accusations and the resulting investigation have finally been brought to a close”.

Four men claimed offences took place between 1958 and 1983, the CPS said.

In a statement, Sir Cliff said: “I have always maintained my innocence, cooperated fully with the investigation, and cannot understand why it has taken so long to get to this point.”

He went on to criticise the “high-profile fumbling of my case from day one”.

“Other than in exceptional cases, people who are facing allegations should never be named publicly until charged,” he said.

“I was named before I was even interviewed and for me that was like being hung out like ‘live bait’.

“It is obvious that such strategies simply increase the risk of attracting spurious claims which not only tie up police resources and waste public funds, but they forever tarnish the reputations of innocent people.”

He added: “Ever since the highly-publicised and BBC-filmed raid on my home I have chosen not to speak publicly.

“Even though I was under pressure to ‘speak out’, other than to state my innocence, which was easy for me to do as I have never molested anyone in my life, I chose to remain silent.”

Last year an independent investigation concluded that South Yorkshire Police should not have released “highly confidential” information to the BBC about a planned search of Sir Cliff Richard’s home.

BBC film crews, including one in a helicopter, filmed the raid in August 2014.

In a statement, South Yorkshire Police apologised “wholeheartedly for the additional anxiety caused” to Sir Cliff by the force’s “initial handling of the media interest” in its investigation.

Conservative MP David Davis said Sir Cliff’s case was “another high-profile arrest which resulted in no prosecution”.

“It is time for a complete review of police procedures surrounding high-profile sex abuse cases, and the publicity surrounding these cases,” he said.

“Whilst it is important to protect victims and maximise the chances of a successful prosecution, this must not result in the gratuitous destruction of people’s reputation.”