Sir Cliff Richard will never be same again, says Gloria Hunniford

Sir Cliff Richard feels that he will never be 'quite the same again' after his battle against the BBC, his close friend Gloria Hunniford has said.
By The Newsroom
Published 20th Jul 2018, 11:32 BST
Updated 20th Jul 2018, 12:28 BST
Sir Cliff Richard arrives with Gloria Hunniford at the Rolls Building in London, to give evidence in a legal battle against the BBC. Dominic Lipinski/PA WireSir Cliff Richard arrives with Gloria Hunniford at the Rolls Building in London, to give evidence in a legal battle against the BBC. Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire
Sir Cliff Richard arrives with Gloria Hunniford at the Rolls Building in London, to give evidence in a legal battle against the BBC. Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

The broadcaster, who was at the High Court for the judgment, said she spoke again to Sir Cliff on Wednesday night and checked how he was.

Hunniford told Good Morning Britain: “I was talking to him last night and asked, ‘How are you feeling?’

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“And he said, ‘You know, I don’t think I’ll ever be quite the same again. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop talking, not only to my friends but inside my head, about the injustice that I’ve had to go through for four years’.

She said: “I agree – you can’t get that out of your head, when you haven’t slept properly for four years.”

Hunniford said of the court ruling: “I was sitting right behind Cliff, and I expected, when the judge said Cliff had won the case, something, an immediate reaction of joy.

“I was quite surprised. He was extremely emotional. As you saw outside the court he was virtually in tears and couldn’t really speak.

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“You have to remember this has been four tortuous years. I can’t imagine how the relief will affect him. I think it will take a while to seep in that this is over.”

And she added: “From the very beginning, I just knew in my soul that he hadn’t done anything wrong.”

Meanwhile, the BBC’s head of news has told staff she is keen to “learn lessons” from the way the Sir Cliff Richard story was reported.

Fran Unsworth emailed BBC staff on Wednesday, the day a High Court judge delivered a ruling on the dispute, telling them she believed that “our journalists” acted in good faith.

She says the BBC would “do some things differently today”.

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Her email, which has been seen by the Press Association, says “significant principles” are at stake.

It said: “If this ruling stands, it changes the way in which all journalists will have to approach naming the subject of a criminal investigation.

“It effectively would make it unlawful that anyone under investigation can be named, unless the police do so.”

Mr Justice Mann ruled that Sir Cliff’s privacy had been breached and awarded him around £200,000 damages to cover the “general effect” on his life.

Related topics:Cliff RichardBBCHigh CourtGood Morning Britain