Judge dismisses BBC bid to appeal Cliff Richard privacy ruling

LONDON (Reuters) - A High Court judge has dismissed the BBC’s attempt to appeal a ruling that it had breached the privacy of veteran singer Cliff Richard by televising a police raid on his house.

Last week Richard, 77, was awarded substantial damages after the BBC used helicopters to film detectives searching his home, which the singer said had left him feeling violated.

The search was part of an investigation into allegations of historical child sex offenses but prosecutors later said Richard, who maintained his innocence throughout, would face no charges due to lack of evidence.

Judge Anthony Mann denied the BBC leave to appeal against his own ruling. The broadcaster can ask the Court of Appeal to consider whether to grant permission for a review of the ruling but it was not immediately available to comment on whether it would do so.

The BBC said last week that the “dramatic” ruling had huge impact on the media’s ability to report police inquiries and scrutinize their conduct.

Mann awarded the singer 210,000 pounds ($276,000) in damages last week, and on Thursday the BBC said it had agreed to pay 850,000 pounds toward his legal costs.

Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Stephen Addison

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