Cliff Richard feels ‘tarnished’ by sex abuse allegations
London, June 23 (IANS) Singer Cliff Richard says he still feels “tarnished” by the sex abuse allegations made against him.
The “Summer holiday” hitmaker — who has been cleared of all allegations made against him — says the Crown Prosecution Service’s (the principal public prosecuting agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales) terminology of “insufficient evidence to prosecute” makes it sound like he did commit a crime, reports femalefirst.co.uk.
“To get the news a couple of days ago telling me that it was good news from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was just fantastic. It’s very difficult for me to explain to people what it’s been feeling like, what it felt like for me, to be an innocent, but having these vile accusations thrown at me,” Richard told British television programme “Good Morning Britain”.
“The CPS, I mean, it is just what they do… There are certain terminologies that they have to use, and in this case they never say there is no evidence, they just say insufficient evidence, nothing on which we can prosecute.
“And so in a way I still feel tarnished because insufficient suggests that maybe there’s something there and I know there wasn’t,” he added.
The 75-year-old star — whose Berkshire home was raided by police in August 2014 — has hit back at those who decided to name him as he has become “collateral damage” for the last two years.
“In the case of people like myself or anybody that is not charged with, this is sexual molestation, the name should never be out there, unless you have been charged, and here I am 22 months and a week later and no charge,” Richard said.
“I don’t like the idea of being collateral damage, and that’s what I’ve been for 22 months,” he added.