BBC journalist broke Cliff Richard raid says source ‘may have been corrupt’
A BBC journalist who broke the story of a police raid on Sir Cliff Richard's home has conceded his tip may have been corruptly leaked to him by a tainted source.
Dan Johnson was hailed a hero by Beeb bosses for his "100% gold-plated scoop" and became the toast of the office following his report that the star faced a historic sex abuse probe, a court has heard.
But he was said to have held South Yorkshire Police "over a barrel" to get the story after approaching them with scant information relating to an allegation against Sir Cliff.
He allegedly promised not to run details of the case if cops gave him exclusive access when they swooped on Sir Cliff's flat.
Mr Johnson claims he later discovered that the original source of his tip came from Scotland Yard's Operation Yewtree into historical sex abuse cases.
But he has refused to disclose who passed the information to him.
Sir Cliff's lawyer, Justin Rushbrooke QC, said: "If you are leaked information about a sensitive investigation into a high-profile person in relation to alleged historic sexual abuse, it's going to come from a tainted source, someone who is covertly and quite possibly corruptly leaking out that information, you must have realised that?"
Mr Johnson said: "That was a possibility but I didn't know."
The journalist was widely praised by the BBC in the immediate aftermath of the broadcast which showed police officers rummaging through drawers at Sir Cliff's pad in Sunningdale, Berks, on August 14 2014.
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Sir Cliff is suing for substantial damages at the "top end of the scale" for breach of privacy and the Data Protection Act.
He says the BBC coverage, which involved the use of a helicopter, was a "very serious invasion" of his privacy.
The BBC argues its coverage was accurate and in good faith.
The case continues.
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