Max Clifford sentenced to 8 years as judge condemns ‘contemptuous attitude’
Publicist Max Clifford has been sentenced to 8 years in prison and told he must serve at least half of this, after he was convicted of eight historic counts of indecent assault, including one account of assault towards a 15-year-old.
Judge Anthony Leonard said that Clifford had shown a ‘contemptuous attitude’, referencing when he stood behind a Sky reporter and mimicked his report.
It had been predicted that Clifford may have been sentenced to two years – the maximum sentence for the crimes at the time they took place - but the judge decided to consecutive sentences, meaning that they will run one after another.
The judge added: “Your offending is not trivial but of a very serious nature”, adding that Clifford “groomed and degraded” his victims.
71-year-old Clifford is the first person to be convicted under Operation Yewtree.
Another publicist, Richard Hillgrove, founder of Hillgrove PR, shared his views while writing for The Drum on what Clifford has meant to the PR sector and the media over the years.