Imogen Calderwood
THE trial of Max Clifford, celebrity publicist and Costa del Sol regular, began this morning in London.
Clifford, known in the region for hosting the annual ‘Max Clifford Celebrity Golf Challenge’ in Marbella, denies 11 counts of indecent assault between 1966 and 1984 in the UK.
The allegations made against the 70-year-old relate to seven alleged victims aged between 14 and 19.
The prosecution case against Clifford, from Surrey in England, was opened this morning by Rosina Cottage QC at Southwark Crown Court in south east London.
The ‘Max Clifford Celebrity Golf Challenge and Butterfly Ball’ is a key event in the Marbella social calendar, hosted annually by Clifford in aid of the Rhys Daniels Trust, of which Clifford in the patron.
The star-studded event takes place at the La Cala Golf Resort in Mijas, near Marbella, and last year’s event raised more than €42,000 for the charity.
Clifford, known as the PR guru for celebrities including Simon Cowell and Jade Goody, was arrested in December 2012 and charged in April 2013 as part of Scotland Yard’s Operation Yewtree inquiry.
Judge Anthony Leonard, who also tried DJ Dave Lee Travis last month, warned the jury not to be influenced by the inevitable publicity of the case.
The trial is expected to last up to six weeks.
another one..??? OMG
Lots of cover-ups over the years. I remember we had this very bombastic teacher who was prone to groping the girls. I mentioned this to my father who had reason to confront my teachers over another matter. He told the creep concerned to his face “he was a dirty pervert”. My father also told him that he should be castrated – he went bright red but guess what, the headmaster did nothing about it, the school’s reputation being more important. He did however stop groping the girls, so I suppose this was a small positive step.