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 The BBC said the "dramatic" ruling would have a huge impact on
the media's ability to report police inquiries and scrutinize
their conduct.
The broadcaster used helicopters to film detectives searching
the home of Richard, 77, one of Britain's best known
entertainers, when he was away on holiday in August 2014 as part
of an investigation into allegations of historical child sex
offences.
Prosecutors later said Richard, who maintained his innocence
throughout, would face no charges due to lack of evidence.
Handing down his judgment and awarding the singer 210,000 pounds
($273,700) in damages, Justice Anthony Mann said the BBC had
infringed Richard's privacy rights "without a legal
justification" and "in a somewhat sensationalist way".
"I have rejected the BBC's case that it was justified in
reporting as it did under its rights to freedom of expression
and freedom of the press," he said.
The BBC said it was considering an appeal, saying the case would
have a serious impact on all media reporting because the judge
had ruled that even naming Richard as a suspect was unlawful.
"This judgment creates new case law and represents a dramatic
shift against press freedom and the long-standing ability of
journalists to report on police investigations," said Fran
Unsworth, the BBC's Director of News and Current Affairs.
"This isn’t just about reporting on individuals. It means police
investigations, and searches of people’s homes, could go
unreported and unscrutinized."
Richard's lawyer Gideon Benaim said the sum awarded by the judge
had been one of the highest "in this area of law".
"This clearly confirms individuals, including high profile ones,
have a reasonable expectation of privacy in relation to police
investigations," Benaim said.
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"CONGRATULATIONS"
Richard, born Harry Webb in 1940 and who was often called Britain's
Elvis Presley early in his career, cried as the verdict was
delivered and hugged supporters in the courtroom.
Outside, fans sang "Congratulations", one of his 14 UK number one
singles in Britain. Richard is the only singer to have topped the UK
singles chart in five consecutive decades, from the 50s to the 90s,
with hits such as "Living Doll" and "Summer Holiday", and was
knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1995.
"It's going to take a little while for me to get over the whole
emotional factor," a tearful Richard said outside court.
After the police inquiry into Richard was dropped, the BBC said it
was very sorry that he had suffered distress, but stood by its
decision to report on the investigation and the search of his house.
It even submitted its story for a journalism award.
Richard told the court he had felt violated and betrayed by the
broadcast, and had suffered illness from stress. It had also had a
major impact on his reputation and career.
"I accept all this evidence," Mann said in his ruling. "It adds up
to a life that was hugely affected for almost two years by loss of
public status and reputation, embarrassment, stress, upset and hurt,
with some consequential health effects."
A review by lawmakers on a parliamentary committee in October 2014
criticized what it called the police's "inept handling" of the
situation, but said there had been nothing wrong in the BBC's
decision to run the story.
Before the High Court trial, South Yorkshire Police agreed to pay
Richard 400,000 pounds for its handling of the incident.
(Reporting by Jo Heywood and Isabel Woodford, writing by Michael
Holden, Editing by Alistair Smout and Raissa Kasolowsky)
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