Former celebrity publicist Max Clifford has died in hospital aged 74, the ministry of justice (MoJ) said.
A MoJ spokeswoman said Clifford collapsed at Littlehey prison in Cambridgeshire on Thursday.
Clifford was sentenced to eight years in prison in May 2014 after being found guilty of eight counts of indecent assault between 1977 and 1985.
A Prison Service spokeswoman said: “HMP Littlehey prisoner Maxwell Clifford died in hospital yesterday. As with all deaths in custody, there will be an investigation by the independent prisons and probation ombudsman. Our condolences are with Clifford’s family at this difficult time.”
Clifford’s daughter, Louise Clifford, had told the Mail on Sunday that Clifford collapsed twice in prison before suffering a cardiac arrest in hospital.
“He was in a bad way,” she said. His first collapse came as he was cleaning his cell,” Louise revealed. “It was just too much. Next day, he collapsed again and was unconscious for several minutes, though he did not know for how long. He was seen by a nurse who insisted he must be transferred to a local hospital. That’s where he had his cardiac arrest, later on Friday.”
Clifford unsuccessfully appealed against his sentence in November 2014. Three appeal court judges dismissed this and declared the eight-year term “justified and correct”.
This year, he sought permission to appeal against his conviction on the basis of what he believed was fresh evidence. The matter had not yet been resolved by the time of his death.
Clifford’s lawyer, John Szepietowski, said his death meant there were a number of unresolved legal issues. He said he Clifford was suing News International and Mirror Group Newspapers for allegedly hacking his phone.
The lawyer also said Clifford was being sued by a number of women who claimed he had sexually assaulted them.
Szepietowski said his legal team would meet in the coming days to decide whether Clifford’s criminal appeal case should continue.