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		</div><p>BBC editors say they will <i>&#8220;defend ourselves vigorously&#8221;</i> after being sued by Cliff Richard over reports naming him as a suspected sex offender.</p>
<p>They say it is the BBC&#8217;s <i>&#8220;responsibility&#8221;</i> to report stories that are in the public interest &#8211; and they say police investigations into prominent public figures are &#8220;squarely&#8221; in the public interest.</p>
<p>Bosses today spelled out their stance after lawyers lodged a defence to the 76-year-old singer&#8217;s damages claims at the High Court in London.</p>
<p>Richard has taken legal action against the BBC and South Yorkshire Police in the wake of coverage of a raid at his apartment in Sunningdale, Berkshire, in August 2014.</p>
<p>His lawyers say he suffered &#8220;profound and long-lasting&#8221; damage.</p>
<p>They say he has sold the apartment which was raided because the prospect of living somewhere which had been &#8220;so publicly violated&#8221; distressed him.</p>
<p>They say the furore threw his <i>&#8220;creative and business plans&#8221;</i> into disarray &#8211; and forced him to delay the release of an album of &#8220;rock &#8216;n&#8217; roll classics.&#8221; And they say he has run up more than £1m in lawyers&#8217; bills.</p>
<p>Detail of Richard&#8217;s complaints had emerged in October in paperwork lodged by his lawyers at the High Court.</p>
<p>But a BBC spokesman said bosses would defend coverage.</p>
<p><i>&#8220;As we have said on several occasions, we are very sorry that Cliff Richard has suffered distress,&#8221;</i> she said.</p>
<p><i>&#8220;However, we have now submitted our response to this claim and will defend ourselves vigorously.&#8221;</i></p>
<p>She added: <i>&#8220;It is the BBC&#8217;s responsibility to report fully stories that are in the public interest. Police investigations into prominent figures in public life are, of course, squarely in the public interest.&#8221;</i></p>
<p>The spokeswoman said <i>&#8220;at every stage&#8221;</i> the BBC had reported Richard&#8217;s <i>&#8220;full denial of the allegations&#8221;.</i></p>
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