MUMBAI : British singer Cliff Richard has won a privacy case against the BBC and has been awarded an initial £210,000 in damages in the legal battle with the UK public broadcaster.

According to hollywoodreporter.com, the BBC in 2014 had reported that the singer was being investigated for claims of child sex assault in the past, and Cliff had sued the BBC for invasion of privacy for naming him and airing helicopter footage of his apartment, which was later searched by police as part of the probe.

The damages would be borne 65 percent by the BBC and 35 percent by South Yorkshire police

The singer was awarded a further £20,000 in aggravated damages for the corporation's decision to nominate its story for the Royal Television Society's scoop of the year award.

The BBC said it would look at an appeal and criticized the court decision as a threat to the freedom of press.

(Source: IANS)