Sir Cliff Richard will not be charged over allegations of historical sexual abuse after a challenge by two of his accusers over the decision not to prosecute was rejected.
The veteran singer was the subject of a long-running South Yorkshire police investigation, codenamed operation Kaddie, which centred on accusations dating from between 1958 and 1983 made by four men.
Officers investigating allegations of historical sex offences were filmed searching his Berkshire home in August 2014, leading to him being publicly named as the subject of the investigation.
The 75-year-old was never arrested or charged and his case was discontinued by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in June on the grounds of insufficient evidence.
Richard denies any wrongdoing.
Two of his accusers subsequently lodged applications under the victims’ right to review scheme, challenging the decision not to pursue the case, but the CPS said yesterday that its initial decision had been correct.
A CPS spokesman said: “On June 16, the CPS announced that no criminal charges were to be brought as a result of operation Kaddie.
“The CPS subsequently received applications to review two of the charging decisions under the victims’ right to review scheme.
“In accordance with the scheme, a CPS lawyer who was not involved in the original decision-making process has completed a full review of the evidence and has concluded that the decisions not to charge were correct.”
The right to review scheme allows an alleged victim, within three months of the original decision, to call for it to be reviewed.
Following the announcement, Richard said: “As I have said previously, I’m innocent, so I’m obviously pleased with the CPS decision and the speed with which they reached it. I hope that it brings this matter to a close.”
When the investigation was brought to a close in June, Richard said he was “thrilled”.
“I have always maintained my innocence, co-operated fully with the investigation, and cannot understand why it has taken so long to get to this point,” he said. “Nevertheless, I am obviously thrilled that the vile accusations and the resulting investigation have finally been brought to a close.”
In July, Richard launched legal actions against the BBC and South Yorkshire police over the live broadcast of the raid on his house.
While officers entered his Berkshire property, the BBC filmed from a helicopter hovering overhead. The singer was in Portugal at the time.
An independent police review in February 2015 sharply criticised an agreement made in 2014 between the force and the BBC, under which the broadcaster would delay reporting the allegations against Richard for one month in return for advance notification of the raid.
British singer Cliff Richard.
