British police apologised to veteran singer Cliff Richard on Tuesday over the handling of a search of his property during an investigation into a sex crime allegation. The BBC filmed the search by helicopter after police informed them in advance when it was due to take place. The coverage sparked widespread criticism that it had violated the privacy of the 73-year-old star and damaged his reputation before he was charged with a crime.
"We had a job to do but I do apologise to Sir Cliff if we were insensitive about the way that we did that," South Yorkshire police chief constable David Crompton told a parliamentary committee.