One of the country’s most senior police officers was accused of ‘sheer incompetence’ last night over his handling of the raid on the home of Sir Cliff Richard. The BBC and South Yorkshire police clashed in Parliament over how TV reporters were able to film live aerial shots of a raid on Sir Cliff Richard's home last month. The chief constable of South Yorkshire Police David Crompton said the BBC put his force in ‘a very difficult position’ after confronting officers with leaked information about the planned search in connection with allegations of a historic sexual assault. Mr Crompton told MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee that his force was convinced that the broadcaster would run a story about the investigation without some kind of deal. Committee MP Julian Huppert said it was a ‘rather remarkable blackmail attempt’. But the BBC flatly rejected the accusation and claimed they would have pulled the story if the police had asked. Scroll down for video . South Yorkshire police chief David Crompton told MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee the BBC would have published a story on the Sir Cliff Richard raid if his force did not cooperate . Home Affairs Select Committee Chairman Keith Vaz suggested that South Yorkshire police had been blackmailed by the BBC . Chief Constable David Crompton was questioned during a Home Affairs Select Committee hearing in the House of Commons today . Sir Cliff's apartment was searched by officers from South Yorkshire and Thames Valley Police last month as part of an investigation into an alleged sexual assault on a young boy at a religious event in 1985. A BBC crew reportedly arrived on the scene before the police, while Sir Cliff was abroad in his holiday home in Portugal. Mr Crompton told MPs that his concern was that 'if we showed the BBC the door, the very clear impression which had been left with my staff in the media department was that they were likely to publish the story'. He said: 'That would have impeded our investigation.' Chairman of the committee Keith Vaz put it to the senior officer that the broadcaster had blackmailed him, but Mr Crompton replied: ‘Blackmail is a very strong word. It put us in a very difficult position.’ Mr Crompton also apologised Sir Cliff if the force was ‘insensitive’ about the search of his home. He said: ‘We had a job to do but I do apologise to Sir Cliff if we were insensitive about the way that we did that. We had a job to do, and we have an investigation. The problem is that investigation could never be done in a low-profile way because it was fatally compromised from the outset.’ Mr Crompton added: ‘The coverage was disproportionate and made our actions look heavy-handed and intrusive. I do regret that.’ But in subsequent evidence to MPs this afternoon, BBC director general Lord Hall told the Committee: ‘Had the chief constable come to a news editor, head of news gathering, James Harding, director of news or myself and said to us “if you run this story you will hamper this investigation, it would be damaging to this investigation” we would not have run the story. ‘I want you to be absolutely clear about that. We would not have run the story.’ Lord Hall added that reporter Dan Johnson went to South Yorkshire Police to discuss ‘a number of stories’ and had a tip off from a source which he will not reveal referring to Cliff Richard. He said there was ‘no hint in any of that of us knowing any more than the name Cliff Richard’. Lord Hall said: ‘The reporter didn't have a story until he went to South Yorkshire Police... and they gave him the story.’ The BBC boss added: ‘South Yorkshire Police had given us a story, had made no attempt to stop us running the story’ He said: ‘It was a proper story for us to cover, in the right matter, proportionately, which I think is what we did. I wasn't surprised the police didn't ask us not to broadcast the story.’ Following the evidence Mr Vaz said that as far as far as the committee was concerned, the BBC 'have acted perfectly properly in respect of this matter'. BBC Reporter David Sillito covered the Cliff Richard raid by police live . A BBC News helicopter filmed police arriving to search Sir Cliff's Berkshire property . Sir Cliff, who was in Portugal when the search took place, firmly denied any wrongdoing and hit out at the fact BBC journalists were apparently tipped off about the plan. He has cancelled a series of public appearances since the search, and has been interviewed under caution by police, but not arrested or charged. The BBC's head of news gathering Jonathan Munro said that the information did not come from South Yorkshire Police, while the force said it had decided to work with the broadcaster to protect its investigation. Sir Cliff Richard was at his home in Portugal when police raided his Berkshire property . Mr Crompton has revealed that the force was approached by a BBC journalist with detailed information about its investigation, and ‘reluctantly’ the reporter was give notice of the planned search to dissuade the corporation from publishing details in advance. He objected to an analysis piece published on the BBC website that he felt suggested that there had been a deliberate attempt to 'ensure maximum coverage' by the force, and accused the broadcaster of trying to ‘distance itself’ from the fact it had initiated contact with them. Thames Valley Police said it had no contact with the media before the search warrant was executed. The appearance before the committee today comes at a turbulent time for South Yorkshire Police, which last week came under fire for failing to protect vulnerable victims of crime. South Yorkshire Police's public protection unit, which handles sex crimes such as rape, honour-based violence and domestic abuse, had an 'unacceptable' culture that saw officers spending a lot of time trying to disprove allegations, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary said. The area's Police and Crime Commissioner Shaun Wright is also facing increasing pressure to quit over the child abuse scandal in Rotherham. Mr Wright was the Labour council cabinet member responsible for children's services in Rotherham from 2005 to 2010, during a 16-year period when 1,400 youngsters suffered wide-scale sexual exploitation including gang rapes, grooming and trafficking. He has apologised to victims, insisting he had no knowledge of the scale of the problem when he was a councillor in the South Yorkshire town, but has refused to quit his GBP85,000-a-year elected post as PCC. This is despite calls by the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary for him to resign, his deputy having quit, and being forced to leave the Labour Party. Sir Cliff was questioned under caution last month by South Yorkshire Police but not arrested or charged. He said the allegation of an assault at a religious event in Sheffield in 1985 is ‘completely false’. A letter from his lawyers sent to MPs confirmed he was not told in advance of the search and found out about it only from a concierge at the property. Details of text and email exchanges between police and the BBC before the raid are due to be published today and Mr Crompton will answer questions again next week.
South Yorkshire Police chief said BBC put his force in 'a difficult position'
David Crompton said the BBC 'fatally compromised' his inquiry into Sir Cliff .
MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee said it was a 'blackmail attempt'
But the BBC said they would not have run the story if requested by police .
South Yorkshire Police sent the BBC aerial pictures of Sir Richard's house .
BBC chief Lord Hall said police 'had given us a story' to cover .
One of the country’s most senior police officers was accused of ‘sheer incompetence’ last night over his handling of the raid on the home of Sir Cliff Richard. The BBC and South Yorkshire police clashed in Parliament over how TV reporters were able to film live aerial shots of a raid on Sir Cliff Richard's home last month. The chief constable of South Yorkshire Police David Crompton said the BBC put his force in ‘a very difficult position’ after confronting officers with leaked information about the planned search in connection with allegations of a historic sexual assault. Mr Crompton told MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee that his force was convinced that the broadcaster would run a story about the investigation without some kind of deal. Committee MP Julian Huppert said it was a ‘rather remarkable blackmail attempt’. But the BBC flatly rejected the accusation and claimed they would have pulled the story if the police had asked. Scroll down for video . South Yorkshire police chief David Crompton told MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee the BBC would have published a story on the Sir Cliff Richard raid if his force did not cooperate . Home Affairs Select Committee Chairman Keith Vaz suggested that South Yorkshire police had been blackmailed by the BBC . Chief Constable David Crompton was questioned during a Home Affairs Select Committee hearing in the House of Commons today . Sir Cliff's apartment was searched by officers from South Yorkshire and Thames Valley Police last month as part of an investigation into an alleged sexual assault on a young boy at a religious event in 1985. A BBC crew reportedly arrived on the scene before the police, while Sir Cliff was abroad in his holiday home in Portugal. Mr Crompton told MPs that his concern was that 'if we showed the BBC the door, the very clear impression which had been left with my staff in the media department was that they were likely to publish the story'. He said: 'That would have impeded our investigation.' Chairman of the committee Keith Vaz put it to the senior officer that the broadcaster had blackmailed him, but Mr Crompton replied: ‘Blackmail is a very strong word. It put us in a very difficult position.’ Mr Crompton also apologised Sir Cliff if the force was ‘insensitive’ about the search of his home. He said: ‘We had a job to do but I do apologise to Sir Cliff if we were insensitive about the way that we did that. We had a job to do, and we have an investigation. The problem is that investigation could never be done in a low-profile way because it was fatally compromised from the outset.’ Mr Crompton added: ‘The coverage was disproportionate and made our actions look heavy-handed and intrusive. I do regret that.’ But in subsequent evidence to MPs this afternoon, BBC director general Lord Hall told the Committee: ‘Had the chief constable come to a news editor, head of news gathering, James Harding, director of news or myself and said to us “if you run this story you will hamper this investigation, it would be damaging to this investigation” we would not have run the story. ‘I want you to be absolutely clear about that. We would not have run the story.’ Lord Hall added that reporter Dan Johnson went to South Yorkshire Police to discuss ‘a number of stories’ and had a tip off from a source which he will not reveal referring to Cliff Richard. He said there was ‘no hint in any of that of us knowing any more than the name Cliff Richard’. Lord Hall said: ‘The reporter didn't have a story until he went to South Yorkshire Police... and they gave him the story.’ The BBC boss added: ‘South Yorkshire Police had given us a story, had made no attempt to stop us running the story’ He said: ‘It was a proper story for us to cover, in the right matter, proportionately, which I think is what we did. I wasn't surprised the police didn't ask us not to broadcast the story.’ Following the evidence Mr Vaz said that as far as far as the committee was concerned, the BBC 'have acted perfectly properly in respect of this matter'. BBC Reporter David Sillito covered the Cliff Richard raid by police live . A BBC News helicopter filmed police arriving to search Sir Cliff's Berkshire property . Sir Cliff, who was in Portugal when the search took place, firmly denied any wrongdoing and hit out at the fact BBC journalists were apparently tipped off about the plan. He has cancelled a series of public appearances since the search, and has been interviewed under caution by police, but not arrested or charged. The BBC's head of news gathering Jonathan Munro said that the information did not come from South Yorkshire Police, while the force said it had decided to work with the broadcaster to protect its investigation. Sir Cliff Richard was at his home in Portugal when police raided his Berkshire property . Mr Crompton has revealed that the force was approached by a BBC journalist with detailed information about its investigation, and ‘reluctantly’ the reporter was give notice of the planned search to dissuade the corporation from publishing details in advance. He objected to an analysis piece published on the BBC website that he felt suggested that there had been a deliberate attempt to 'ensure maximum coverage' by the force, and accused the broadcaster of trying to ‘distance itself’ from the fact it had initiated contact with them. Thames Valley Police said it had no contact with the media before the search warrant was executed. The appearance before the committee today comes at a turbulent time for South Yorkshire Police, which last week came under fire for failing to protect vulnerable victims of crime. South Yorkshire Police's public protection unit, which handles sex crimes such as rape, honour-based violence and domestic abuse, had an 'unacceptable' culture that saw officers spending a lot of time trying to disprove allegations, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary said. The area's Police and Crime Commissioner Shaun Wright is also facing increasing pressure to quit over the child abuse scandal in Rotherham. Mr Wright was the Labour council cabinet member responsible for children's services in Rotherham from 2005 to 2010, during a 16-year period when 1,400 youngsters suffered wide-scale sexual exploitation including gang rapes, grooming and trafficking. He has apologised to victims, insisting he had no knowledge of the scale of the problem when he was a councillor in the South Yorkshire town, but has refused to quit his GBP85,000-a-year elected post as PCC. This is despite calls by the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary for him to resign, his deputy having quit, and being forced to leave the Labour Party. Sir Cliff was questioned under caution last month by South Yorkshire Police but not arrested or charged. He said the allegation of an assault at a religious event in Sheffield in 1985 is ‘completely false’. A letter from his lawyers sent to MPs confirmed he was not told in advance of the search and found out about it only from a concierge at the property. Details of text and email exchanges between police and the BBC before the raid are due to be published today and Mr Crompton will answer questions again next week.
constable of South Yorkshire Police David Crompton said the BBC put his force in ‘a very difficult position’ after confronting officers deal. Committee MP Julian Huppert said it was a ‘rather remarkable blackmail attempt’. But the they would have pulled the story if the police Yorkshire police chief David Crompton told MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee the BBC would have published a story on the Sir Cliff Richard would not have run the story.’ Lord Hall added Police had given us a story, had made no attempt