Max Clifford exposed himself to girl (17), court told

Former celebrity publicist accused of indecently assaulting woman in London office

Former celebrity publicist Max Clifford. Photograph: Philip Toscano/PA
Former celebrity publicist Max Clifford. Photograph: Philip Toscano/PA

Max Clifford "gyrated" in front of a 17-year-old with his penis exposed, a court has heard on Thursday.

The former celebrity publicist, (73), is accused of indecently assaulting a woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in his London office in the 1980s when she was 17. He denies the charge.

She claims he forced her to perform a sex act on him and that she thought he would “rape or kill” her, Southwark Crown Court has heard.

On Thursday, the court heard that, in his police interview, Clifford was asked about the allegation.

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Detective Sergeant Jason Price, who was giving evidence, asked whether Clifford remembered coming out of his office, blocking the alleged victim's access to a stairwell and exposing his penis.

Clifford said: “No comment.”

The court heard that in the interview, Det Sgt Price then said: “You gyrated around, so one would assume by that it means moving your hips around.”

Clifford replied: “What? Dancing or something? No comment.”

The alleged victim claimed that he put her hand on his penis and she said “I don’t want to”, but she “did as she was told” and only stopped when they were disturbed by a knock on the door.

At the start of the interview, Clifford gave a statement in which he denied the allegation.

His statement said he had never engaged in sexual relations with someone without their consent and “neither have I ever needed to coerce someone”.

Describing his experience of being jailed and being sued for compensation, he added: “I am 71 years old. I will probably never recover from what has happened to me.”

After his statement was read out in the interview, he answered “no comment” to the majority of the questions and said of the allegation: “Everything about it is totally untrue.”

Clifford was jailed for eight years in May 2014 after being convicted of a number of charges under Operation Yewtree, the Met Police investigation set up after the Jimmy Savile scandal.

He sat in the dock in a blue shirt and a navy blazer listening to proceedings through a hearing loop.

The prosecution case has now finished and the case has been adjourned until Monday when Clifford will give evidence.

The trial continues.