A CUMBRIAN peer hosted Sir Cliff Richard and other celebrities in Parliament to campaign for amendments to laws that allow pre charge suspects of sexual viloence to be named.
Former Workington MP Lord Campbell Savours invited celebrities The legendary Shadows singer and Paul Gambucinni to Parliament on June, 8 to discuss their personal stories of being accused of sexual assault and the media coverage they were subject to.
The BBC reported Sir Cliff told Parliament "how desperate it is to be accused of something you never did".
He also urged politicians to back a change in the law to protect people who are wrongly accused.
Police raided the singer's home in 2014 as part of an investigation into a sex assault claim.
He was never arrested.
He told the meeting how the media coverage of the allegations had "nearly destroyed" him, and encouraged the law to be changed to help regular people who were facing similar ordeals.
Sir Cliff successfully sued the BBC for breach of privacy over its coverage of the police raid, filmed from a helicopter and broadcast live.
Currently, alleged victims of sexual offences receive lifelong anonymity but there is no law against naming a suspect.
Once a person is charged, they are normally named by police, but the media often names those who have been arrested but not charged.
Campaign group FAIR (Falsely Accused Individuals for Reform) has called for pre-charge naming of sexual offence suspects to be made a criminal offence in England and Wales.
The group, backed by Sir Cliff and other high profile figures including DJ Paul Gambaccini, have drafted an amendment that would outlaw the practice.
Former MP and peer Lord Dale Campbell Savours spoke to the Times and Star after the meeting which he said he was 'very happy' with.
He said: "Those two (Sir Cliff and Paul Gambuccini) have been very badly affected by the false accusations that they have been subject to.. so much so I have been in meetings with Cliff where he has been in tears.
"The current law is destroying people's lives, and therefore there is a campaign of which I am one of the leader's of this campaign to get the law changed ,the problem is we are reliant on bills coming before Parliament which we can amend to make these changes and it's very difficult to find such bills."
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