Veteran British pop star Cliff Richard won a long-running case against the BBC today after it broadcast live on TV a police raid on his home over allegations that were later dropped.
In the High Court, Judge Anthony Mann said the BBC had infringed Richard's privacy rights in a "serious" and "sensationalist" way and awarded him 210,000 pounds (USD 274,000, 236,000 euros) for the "general effect" on his life.
He said Richard was also entitled to further sums for the financial impact of the incident, which will be decided at a later date.
Richard, 77, was Britain's first home-grown pop star and considered the country's answer to Elvis Presley.
His home was raided in 2014 as part of an investigation into historical allegations of sexual assault.
But he was never arrested or criminally charged and was told in 2016 there was insufficient evidence against him.
"My life was effectively turned upside down and my reputation, worldwide, was unnecessarily damaged. I would not want the same to happen to others whether in the public eye or not," Richard said in a statement at the start of his case.
"I firmly believe that privacy should be respected and that police guidelines are there to be followed.
"That means that, save in exceptional circumstances, people should never be named unless and until they are charged. As everybody has accepted, there were no such 'exceptional circumstances' in my case."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content