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A dispute between Sir Cliff Richard and the BBC after the corporation named him in reports as a suspected sex offender will be heard at the High Court.

The singer previously sued the BBC over reports naming him as a suspected sex offender following a raid on his Berkshire home.

Sir Cliff took legal action against the BBC and South Yorkshire Police in the wake of coverage of a raid at his apartment in Sunningdale in August 2014.

Lawyers representing Sir Cliff said - in written submissions - in October last year that he suffered "profound and long-lasting" damage.

They say he has sold the apartment which was raided because the prospect of living somewhere which had been "so publicly violated" distressed him.

They say the furore threw his "creative and business plans" into disarray - and forced him to delay the release of an album of "rock 'n' roll classics".

And they say he has run up more than £1 million in lawyers' bills.

In December a BBC spokeswoman said bosses would defend coverage.

"As we have said on several occasions, we are very sorry that Sir Cliff Richard has suffered distress," she said.

"However, we have now submitted our response to this claim and will defend ourselves vigorously."

She added: "It is the BBC's responsibility to report fully stories that are in the public interest. Police investigations into prominent figures in public life are, of course, squarely in the public interest."

The spokeswoman said "at every stage" the BBC had reported Sir Cliff's "full denial of the allegations".

In June, South Yorkshire Police apologised "wholeheartedly for the additional anxiety caused" to Sir Cliff by the force's "initial handling of the media interest" in its investigation.

Mr Justice Mann is listed to oversee a hearing at the High Court in London on Wednesday.