Sir Cliff Richard

The singer, who denied the claims and was never arrested or charged, said being falsely accused could “completely destroy you” as he urged people to back the ...

Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Former Tory MP Harvey Proctor, who spent more than a year facing accusations that he was a child murderer and rapist before he was finally cleared from the Metropolitan Police’s bungled Operation Midland, became visibly emotional as he told the meeting: “The effect of such adverse publicity and police malpractice cannot be underestimated. By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice. So I’ve been there and I know what it’s like. By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.

Both men were previously falsely accused of historical sex offences.

He told the audience of reporters and campaign supporters he has learnt “how desperate it is to be accused of something you never did. The family of the former Labour peer have always maintained his innocence. He added: “Every single one of us is innocent until proven guilty, so all we are asking is…

Sir Cliff Richard has reignited his campaign calling for people accused of sexual assault to be given anonymity unless they are charged by police.

They don’t need bandwagoners to do that.” Addressing concerns from opponents to the plan that anonymity before charge would hinder victims coming forward and police trying to build a strong case, Mr Gambaccini said: “If the police are professional, they can take the case they have been given… They want the amendment to make it an offence in England and Wales for someone to identify or publish information about another person being the subject of an investigation “in respect of the alleged commission of a sexual offence” unless charged or if there is a court order permitting this.

The singer calls for a change in the law, speaking of "how desperate it is to be accused of something you never did".

Labour peer Lord Campbell Savours, who hosted the meeting, said he believed it had a "good chance" of being passed by the Lords but would probably be blocked in the Commons by "very articulate women MPs who feel very strongly that the law should not be weakened". The group's proposed legislation would allow sexual offences suspects to be named if the courts believed they represented a threat in the "present moment", he added. But Mr Gambaccini told the meeting the police should be professional enough to build a case without encouraging "bandwagoners" with "frivolous" allegations. At a meeting in the House of Lords, he spoke of "how desperate it is to be accused of something you never did". But he said he wanted the law to be changed to help "regular people" who had endured similar ordeals. He told the meeting how the media coverage of the allegations had "nearly destroyed" him and that he would never fully get over it.