BBC agrees to pay pop star's legal costs

The BBC agreed on Thursday to pay within 14 days the legal costs of veteran British pop star Cliff Richard, after it last week lost a privacy case he pursued.

But the broadcaster also reported that it is seeking permission to appeal the court ruling over its live television coverage of a 2014 police raid on the singer’s home.

A British judge awarded Richard 210,000 pounds (US$277,000) in damages after deciding the BBC infringed his privacy in its reporting of the police operation.

The raid was part of an investigation into historical child sex allegations, but Richard was never charged or arrested.

The corporation said it will pay the singer 850,000 pounds to cover his legal fees, and pay 315,000 pounds to South Yorkshire Police, which carried out the search, to reimburse its court costs.

Gavin Millar, a lawyer for the BBC, told a hearing yesterday it was “appropriate” to pay the expenses.

In awarding him the damages on July 18, High Court Judge Anthony Mann found the BBC had infringed Richard’s rights in a “serious” and “somewhat sensationalist way.”