Celebrities and politicians hailed Sir Cliff Richard’s court victory over the BBC as a ‘game changer’ yesterday and said it would mean tougher restrictions on the Press.

Former Blue Peter presenter John Leslie and DJ Paul Gambaccini – who have both been arrested over sex offence allegations in the past – said the High Court ruling meant high-profile suspects should not be named unless they were charged with a crime.

The ruling led to calls for the Government to introduce ‘Cliff’s Law’ to ban journalists from naming suspects unless they are charged.

Scroll down for video

DJ Paul Gambaccini (left), Cliff Richard (center) and Tory MP Nigel Evans (right) have all been accused of sexual abuse

Former Blue Peter presenter John Leslie joined Gambaccini in calling for tighter regulation on reporting

But freedom of speech campaigners warned that such legislation would be anti-democratic and would prevent proper scrutiny of the police.

Lawyers said it could deter victims of serial sexual offenders from coming forward in cases such as those of Max Clifford and Stuart Hall, because they might believe they were the only victim and that their account would not be believed.

Mr Leslie, who has been investigated seven times over sexual assault allegations and has faced trial twice but never been convicted of any crime, compared being named to ‘a cancer’.

He told ITV’s This Morning: ‘If you’re falsely accused and then you’re named and shamed in the media it eats away at you, it destroys the way you live.’

Mr Leslie, 53, said the string of accusations had left him ‘unemployable’, even though he had been cleared.

Commenting on the ruling against the BBC, he said: ‘I think it’s a game changer... If you’re not named until you’re at least charged, that’s going to save a lot of people a lot of heartache and a lot of pain.’

Sir Cliff, 77, has said he took action against the BBC’s coverage of a police search of his home in 2014 because he felt his reputation was ‘forever tainted’ and he did not want others to suffer a similar fate.

The raid on his apartment in Sunningdale, Berkshire, in 2014 was part of an investigation into a historical child sex allegation but he was never arrested or charged with any offence.

Sir Cliff Richard won his High Court privacy battle against the BBC and was awarded £210,000 damages over its coverage of a police raid on his Berkshire home in August 2014

BBC executives are expected to appeal against the judgment, which ordered the broadcaster to pay the singer more than £200,000 in damages for the ‘serious infringement’ of his privacy rights.

Sir Cliff has said he does not want to see any curtailment of Press freedom, but his friend Mr Gambaccini claimed the star wanted a ban on police suspects being named unless they were charged.

He said: ‘Cliff wanted to get redress from the BBC and also to help get anonymity before charge.’

Mr Gambaccini was arrested on suspicion of historical sexual offences but the case was dropped and he was never charged with any offence.

Lawyers have warned that the judgment would make police wary about naming suspects, unless the suspect posed an immediate risk to public safety.

And Ian Murray, of the Society of Editors, said it had ‘worrying consequences for Press freedom and the public’s right to know’.

But Tory MP Nigel Evans, who in 2014 was cleared of sex offences by a jury, dismissed the concerns over Press freedom, saying: ‘They [journalists] are worried that they can’t trash people’s reputations.’

Sir Cliff (pictured yesterday) said he was still getting over the emotion of it all after his lawyer slammed the BBC in a statement