Report
Introduction
1. On 14 August 2014, officers from South Yorkshire
Police, accompanied by officers from Thames Valley Police, executed
a search warrant at the home of the singer Sir Cliff Richard OBE,
in Sunningdale, Berkshire. A BBC reporter and camera crew were
present at the premises, having arrived before the police, and
the BBC broadcast footage of officers entering and leaving the
building, filmed by the camera crew on the ground and from a helicopter.
During the course of this coverage, the BBC suggested that the
police had given them advance notice of the search in order to
maximise coverage of the case, in the hope that further witnesses
might come forward. In a piece on the BBC News website, Danny
Shaw, the BBC's Home Affairs Correspondent, described his colleagues'
presence at Sir Cliff's home as "highly unusual" and
suggested that it appeared to be "a deliberate attempt by
police to ensure maximum coverage".[1]
2. Sir Cliff, who was on a summer holiday when the
search took place, subsequently issued a statement in which he
denied the allegations against him and complained that the police
had given prior notice of the search to the media. Later the same
day, South Yorkshire Police issued a statement which said
The force was contacted some weeks ago by a BBC
reporter who made it clear he knew of the existence of an investigation.
It was clear he [was] in a position to publish it.
The force was reluctant to co-operate but felt
that to do otherwise would risk losing any potential evidence,
so in the interests of the investigation it was agreed that the
reporter would be notified of the date of the house search in
return for delaying publication of any of the facts.
Early the following morning, Jonathan Munro, the
BBC's Head of Newsgathering, confirmed publicly that South Yorkshire
Police had not been the original source of the story.[2]
3. On 17 August, Chief Constable David Crompton QPM
of South Yorkshire Police made a formal complaint to the BBC Director
General about the suggestion in the BBC's coverage that the Force
had sought to maximise coverage of the investigation, and the
misrepresentation of the broadcaster's own role in the story.
He said that Dan Johnson, a BBC journalist covering the North
of England, had approached the Force on 14 July and "clearly
knew the detail of the planned investigation". The Chief
Constable said that the Force had only agreed to work with Mr
Johnson to prevent the premature publication of details of the
proposed search, to "protect[…] the integrity of the
investigation".[3]
Mr Crompton provided us with a bundle of contemporaneous material,
including extracts from the daybooks of staff, e-mails and text
messages, although he pointed out that some of the relevant communication
took place in unrecorded phone calls.[4]
4. Both South Yorkshire Police and the BBC agree
that the BBC (and only the BBC) was notified in advance of the
search of Sir Cliff's property. They are in broad agreement about
the sequence of events, from the first discussions between the
BBC and the Force's Media Department on 14 July to the search
on 14 August. It is also common ground that the Force provided
the BBC with an aerial photograph of the block where Sir Cliff's
flat was located in order to help them identify the premises.
Where there is strong disagreement is over the nature of the discussions
between Mr Johnson and the Force in his initial approaches to
them. South Yorkshire Police maintain that Mr Johnson had detailed
knowledge of the investigation, that he claimed his source was
somebody within Operation Yewtree, and that he indicated that
he intended to report these details at an early opportunity. A
note in the daybook of Carrie Goodwin, Head of SYP Media Department,
dated 17 July 2014 (but referring to a meeting on 15 July), reads
Knew detail of investigation - Got it from Yewtree
[…] Req comment! or to go on warrant
Consider pre rec or notify of search date + location
to prevent pub/broadcast.[5]
Although the Chief Constable declined to use the
word "blackmail" to describe the BBC's behaviour, he
told us that it put the Force in "a very difficult position".[6]
However, Detective Superintendent Matt Fenwick, the Senior Investigating
Officer in the case, recorded in his daybook on the day after
the search, "we had only worked with him [Mr Johnson] because
he had in effect blackmailed us into doing do".[7]
5. The BBC, on the other hand, maintains that their
reporter knew nothing other than the name of Sir Cliff Richard
when he first approached the police, that he did not purport to
have any more detailed information, and that the police then volunteered
to set up a meeting between Mr Johnson and the senior investigating
officer at which further details of the investigation were volunteered.
The Director-General, Lord Hall, told us
We are saying that Dan Johnson went to South
Yorkshire Police to discuss a number of stories. He said, "What
about Cliff Richard?" or words to that effect—I obviously
was not there—and at that point a meeting was arranged slightly
later with whoever was responsible for carrying out the investigation
when he was then briefed on the story […].[8]
6. Lord Hall also assured us that, had South Yorkshire
Police felt that the premature broadcast of the story could have
damaged the investigation, the Chief Constable had only to approach
a news editor or other senior figure, and the BBC "would
not have run the story. I want you to be absolutely clear about
that. We would not have run the story".[9]
7. If South Yorkshire Police believed
that the premature broadcasting of a story about the investigation
could have prejudiced their enquiries, then they should have contacted
more senior people at the BBC to explain the situation, rather
than trying to cut a deal with an individual reporter. Given that
the BBC had information about the investigation and the timing
and location of the execution of the search warrant, which was
freely provided to them by South Yorkshire Police, we see nothing
wrong in their decision to run the story. It is unfortunate, however,
that they allowed another of their correspondents to give a misleading
impression of the circumstances under which the Corporation came
by this information, downplaying the BBC's role and suggesting
that South Yorkshire Police were actively seeking publicity for
the investigation.
Evidence from South Yorkshire
Police and the BBC
8. We have summarised above the points of agreement
and disagreement between the police and the BBC in this case.
The following points are disputed:
a) whether
Dan Johnson indicated to South Yorkshire Police that he knew anything
more than the fact that Sir Cliff Richard was under investigation
for alleged child-sex offences; and
b) whether
Dan Johnson indicated to South Yorkshire Police that his source
for this story was Operation Yewtree.
9. The near-contemporaneous records with which South
Yorkshire Police have provided us, dating back to a few days after
the initial contact in mid-July, appear to support their version
of events, or at least the assertion that this was their understanding
of the situation at the time. Notes made by Carrie Goodwin following
a meeting with Mr Johnson on 15 July include "[Johnson] knew
detail of investigation - Got it from Yewtree", followed
by information about the location and broad nature of the alleged
offence. Notes made by Detective Superintendent Matt Fenwick,
the Senior Investigating Officer in the case, following a meeting
with Mr Johnson following the same meeting, record
[Dan Johnson] - Aware of CR allegations […]
- Confirmed police source - Yew Tree - refused
to name.[10]
The notes also record further details of the allegation
which it is suggested that Mr Johnson knew before he spoke to
the Force. Det Supt Fenwick subsequently confirmed to us that
Mr Johnson explicitly stated that he had obtained
his knowledge of the investigation from Operation Yewtree.[11]
Carrie Goodwin also confirmed that, when Dan
Johnson first contacted her, "he detailed a conversation
he said he had with Operation Yewtree".[12]
10. James Harding, Director of News and Current Affairs
at the BBC, pointed out to us that these notes, which referred
to a meeting on 15 July, were dated 17 July and were not therefore
contemporaneous. He offered no further comment on their veracity.
We invited Mr Johnson, the only BBC employee who was actually
a party to these conversations, to comment on the material. We
received a reply from Mr Harding saying that the BBC "would
prefer contact through the management team rather than to individual
journalists" and enclosing an e-mail to him from Mr Johnson
in which Mr Johnson says
I did not say my source was Operation Yewtree.
When I was asked where my information had come from, I refused
to answer. As you will understand I am determined to protect my
source and I would not have risked identification by entering
into any discussion about who it was.[13]
11. Whereas South Yorkshire Police
have been very forthcoming in supplying us with all the material
we have sought from them, the BBC have chosen to hide their reporter
behind his superiors, issuing equivocal denials on his behalf.
It seems likely to us, on balance, that Mr Johnson did indeed
indicate to South Yorkshire Police that he had detailed knowledge
of the investigation, beyond the name of the suspect, and that,
whether by act or omission, he gave them the clear impression
that his source was Operation Yewtree.
12. The material supplied
to us by South Yorkshire Police shows that the Force did not only
give the BBC the date of the search, but they handed over a great
deal of information freely. Over the course of dozens of telephone
calls, e-mails and text exchanges, they provided the BBC with
an aerial photograph of the block in which Sir Cliff's flat was
located to help them identify it.[14]
The BBC arranged for a helicopter to be on the scene, to film
officers entering and leaving the building, as well as some shots
taken through the windows of officers in the apartment. The Force's
Media Department also texted Dan Johnson at 10.20am on the day
of the raid to notify him that officers were going in, to which
Mr Johnson replied "Give me a shout before they take anything
out, so we can get the chopper in place for a shot". Witnesses
from the BBC told us that the helicopter was operated by a freelance
company on a retainer from the BBC and ITN; there was no marginal
cost to the BBC associated with its use on the day.[15]
It is clear that South Yorkshire
Police's exchanges with the BBC went far beyond confirming the
date of the search of Sir Cliff's home. The Force played an active
part in providing the BBC with detailed information which would
allow it to secure exclusive coverage of the search.
THE BBC'S SOURCE
13. As
we have already noted, the Police records show that both the Media
Department and the Senior Investigating Office believed from their
initial contact with Mr Johnson that his source for the story
was somebody connected to Operation Yewtree. The Chief Constable
confirmed that it was Operation Yewtree who had referred the investigation
to South Yorkshire Police and that the approach from Mr Johnson
came less than two weeks after that referral.[16]
This episode
clearly points to a leak from within Operation Yewtree and it
is therefore surprising that Chief Constable Crompton did not
seek to contact the Metropolitan Police soon after the approach
from Mr Johnson to alert them to the possible leak and invite
them to investigate.
Police and the media
14. The relationship between police and the media,
when it is conducted properly, can be mutually beneficial: the
provision by police of crime stories to the media contributes
to an improved public understanding and awareness of crime, and
the media provide a platform for the police to appeal to the public
for information to assist them with their enquiries. However,
some aspects of the relationship can give rise to concerns. In
2009, our predecessor Committee published a Report on Police
and the Media.[17]
The Report concluded:
a) That
the practice of giving off-the-record briefings, although there
can be limited circumstances in which it is in the public interest,
was used too frequently. Forces should exercise particular caution
when identifying suspects to the media, a practice which had the
potential to prejudice any subsequent trial.[18]
b) That it
was often difficult for forces to identify individuals who were
the sources of leaks to the media, some of whom might have been
acting for financial gain, and that it was important therefore
to effect a cultural change by frequently reminding officers of
the harm that might arise from leaking information.[19]
c) Forces
should be more forthcoming in providing on-the-record information
to journalists about individual crimes.[20]
15. It has been argued that publicising ongoing investigations
into certain types of offences is an effective way of encouraging
new victims or witnesses to come forward. The BBC programme, Crimewatch,
has provided a dedicated platform for police forces to do so for
over three decades. The joint Metropolitan Police and NSPCC report
into allegations of sexual abuse made against Jimmy Savile under
Operation Yewtree, Giving Victims a Voice, described how
hundreds of victims came forward after they heard about the allegations
against Savile in the media. Many of them had remained silent
for decades for fear that they would not be believed. This included
not only victims of Savile himself, but other victims of sexual
assaults who were emboldened to come forward by the publicity
surrounding the Operation.[21]
16. However, the publication of the names of suspects
needs to be balanced against the need to avoid prejudicing any
future trial, as well as the need to avoid causing potentially
catastrophic reputational damage to an individual who is entitled
in law to the presumption of innocence. Many police investigations
do not result in a conviction or even a charge and to label somebody
publicly as a suspected sex offender can have devastating consequences.
17. It would have been open to South
Yorkshire Police to decide to publicise the name of the subject
of this investigation had they chosen to do so for operational
reasons. However, the naming of suspects (or the confirming of
a name when it is put to a force) when there is no operational
need to do so is wrong.
18. The conversations between Dan
Johnson and South Yorkshire Police led eventually to high-profile
television coverage of allegations against a well-known public
figure. The potential damage to the individuals under investigation
means that the police should not give the media advance notice
of arrests, the execution of search warrants, and other aspects
of investigations of high-profile individuals, except, as we have
already noted, where it is justified on operational grounds. South
Yorkshire Police have told us that they did not want to publicise
their investigation, but offered the BBC information about the
search warrant as part of a compromise in which the BBC did not
broadcast prematurely the information its reporter had. Senior
BBC executives told us that the Chief Constable had only to pick
up the phone and they would not have broadcast the story, a sensible
editorial policy which should reduce the scope for conflict between
legitimate journalistic activity and law enforcement, and which
we are happy to endorse and publicise here. We hope that this
episode will provide a useful case-study for police forces when
considering their dealings with the media.
19. We are disappointed by South
Yorkshire Police's inept handling of this situation. Whereas it
is clear that the Force felt from the outset that it had to cooperate
with the BBC in order to avoid jeopardising the investigation,
its cooperation went far beyond notifying the BBC of the date,
the Force failed to go to senior managers at the BBC to explain
the risks inherent in premature broadcasting of the story, and
it failed to alert the Metropolitan Police to the possibility
of a leak from within Operation Yewtree.
20. It is clear that Sir Cliff Richard
has personally suffered enormous, irreparable damage to his reputation,
though he has been neither arrested nor charged with any offence.
We have seen recently in the press that Sir Cliff has considered
selling his home, which he only bought in 2008, because of the
way the operation was carried out, and we can understand his feelings.
No citizen should have to watch on live television their home
being raided in this way.
1 Sir Cliff Richard's Berkshire property searched by police,
BBC News website, 14 August 2014 Back
2
Tweet from @jonathancmunro at 7.58 am on 15 August 2014: "Lots
of q's re original source of @BBCNews story on Cliff Richard.
We won't say who, but can confirm it was not South Yorks Police". Back
3
PME0010,
Letter from David Crompton QPM to the Director General of the
BBC dated 17 August 2014. See also Q 14. Back
4
PME0010
& Q 17 Back
5
PME0010 Back
6
Qq 5-6 Back
7
PME0010 Back
8
Q 125 Back
9
Q 124 Back
10
PME0008 Back
11
PME0013 Back
12
PME0014 Back
13
PME0011 Back
14
Qq 131-133 Back
15
Qq 136-138 Back
16
Q 34 Back
17
Home Affairs Committee, Police and the Media, Second Report of
Session 2008-09, HC 75 Back
18
Ibid pp 4-8 Back
19
Ibid pp. 9-10 Back
20
Ibid pp 11-13 Back
21
Giving Victims a Voice, joint report into sexual allegations made
against Jimmy Savile (MPS & NSPCC, January 2013) Back
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