Bonkers

The exchanges between the BBC and South Yorkshire Police before and after the search of Sir Cliff Richard's flat in Sunningdale have E M Forster characteristics - "telegrams and anger" leading to "panic and emptiness".

Before, and just after, all is exuberance from the BBC regional reporter who got the break, Dan Johnson. He asks the police, tiggerishly "Can we speak to the victim ahead of arrest/searches? Would be great to have a word from him, anonymously I expect" (Sir Cliff's lawyers will enjoy that bit). When the day of the search comes, Dan is texting a police press officer "Give me a shout before they take anything out, so we can get the chopper in place for a shot"; and when the day comes to a close, Dan and SYP's Carrie Goodwin review things...

CG: Good day?
DJ : Bonkers, but brilliant. Thank you for your help. Hope it went well from your point of view. Any idea what happens next?
CG: Just waiting for a meeting to be arranged. Everyone thinks we tipped you of so lots of grief from media but nothing we can't handle. 
DJ: Yeah, we've had a lot of questions as well. You'd expect the media to understand good old fashioned journalism, but apparently not.
CG: That's what I thought.

In the end, relations between the BBC side and the SYP break down because the police think the BBC, in a piece by Danny Shaw, are accusing them, essentially, of grandstanding the event - and want the Shaw piece taken down. Higher and higher levels of suits get involved - through Gary Smith, Home News; Jonathan Munro, Head of Newsgathering (whose Tweet about the source not being SYP doesn't seem to help) and the DG's anointed rep, Phil Harrold, BBC Company Secretary. Not pleasant reading.