A second alleged ‘sexual abuse victim’ of  India-born British singing superstar Sir Cliff Richard has challenged a decision not to bring charges against him, prosecutors have said.

The Crown Prosecution Service said last month it was reviewing one case after a request by a male complainant, and another has now requested a review.

In June it said there was “insufficient evidence” to prosecute Sir Cliff over sex abuse claims made by four men. A spokesman for the singer said: “Sir Cliff reaffirms his innocence.”

Both cases are expected to be reviewed together, with the outcome expected this month, BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said.

Alleged victims of crimes are entitled to a review of decisions not to charge suspects under a scheme set up by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in England and Wales in 2013.

A spokesman for Sir Cliff said: “Sir Cliff reaffirms his innocence and has every confidence the CPS will come to the right conclusion as soon as possible.”

On Tuesday, in reply to a question about Sir Cliff’s case, Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders said reviews would be looked at within 28 days.

“We only overturn these decisions if we think that the original decision was wrong,” she told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. “We look at it again, and it must still be that there is sufficient evidence and it’s in the public interest to prosecute. It must still satisfy the tests.”

The four men alleged the sex offences had taken place between 1958 and the early 1980s.

When the CPS decided not to bring charges against Sir Cliff in June the singer said he was “thrilled that the vile accusations and the resulting investigation have finally been brought to a close”.

“Insufficient suggests that maybe there’s something there and I know there wasn’t,” he said.

“There are certain terminologies [the CPS] have to use, and in this case, they never say there is no evidence, they just say insufficient evidence.”

The singer said he felt like “collateral damage” resulting from the wave of police investigations into high-profile sex abuse allegations sparked by the Jimmy Savile scandal.

Sir Cliff said he believed suspects in sexual abuse cases should not be publicly named unless they are formally charged and questioned if accusers should have anonymity for life.

“I can understand protecting children, but my accusers are all men, grown up men. I don’t see why they should be protected,” he said.

‘Very cagey’

When the allegations first came to light in 2014, a police raid on the singer’s home was shown during the BBC’s initial reporting of the story.

Sir Cliff said he believed the corporation knew about the raid in advance as a result of contact with South Yorkshire Police at the time.

He said there “must have been illegal collusion” between the BBC and police and he believed he had a “every right to sue… definitely for gross invasion of my privacy”.

An independent investigation concluded in 2015 that police should not have released “highly confidential” information to the BBC about a planned search of the singer’s home.

The BBC and South Yorkshire Police have both apologised to Sir Cliff.

[From BBC reports]

  Anglo-Indian, Cliff Richard, Media, Music