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Max Clifford guilty: A lonely demise for the risk-taker who described 'beautiful and randy women' desperate to meet the TV and film producers of his world
Max Clifford guilty: He forged a career by covering up dirty secrets – but in the end, he couldn’t escape his own
(about 7 hours later)
For someone who has relied throughout his 50-year career on his extensive contacts book, Max Clifford cut a lonely figure during his six-week trial. Whereas celebrities such as Bill Roache, Michael le Vell and Dave Lee Travis had family and friends by their side throughout their sex offence trials after being rounded up and charged under Scotland Yard’s Operation Yewtree, the PR guru shuffled into Southwark Crown Court day in, day out, all alone.
For someone who has relied throughout his 50-year career on his extensive contacts book, Max Clifford cut a lonely figure during his six-week trial. Whereas celebrities Bill Roache, Michael Le Vell and Dave Lee Travis had family and friends by their side throughout their sex offence trials, the publicist shuffled into Southwark Crown Court day in, day out, all alone.
The man the stars relied on to cover up their private sexual indiscretions appeared to have had no one to accompany him as he publicly confronted his own. His second wife, Jo Westwood, had been with her husband when he appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court last year but did not attend his trial. The king of the kiss and tell was not used to finding himself with no one beside him.
The man the stars relied upon to cover up their sexual indiscretions appeared to have had no one to accompany him as he publicly confronted his own. His second wife, Jo Westwood, was with him when he appeared at Westminster magistrates’ court last year but did not attend his trial.
Clifford liked to be surrounded by pretty women from an early age and candidly describes his attitude towards sex and relationships in his 2005 autobiography Read All About It – published two years after the death of Liz, his devoted wife of 35 years. After losing his virginity in his lunchbreak, Clifford spent the following summer at a friend’s house which quickly became “a den of iniquity”. He said: “Sex became another sport for me… I love women’s bodies and the fact every one is so different and I have always wanted to please them sexually.
Clifford liked to be surrounded by pretty women from an early age and candidly describes his attitude towards sex and relationships in his 2005 autobiography Read All About It. After losing his virginity during a lunch break, Clifford spent the following summer at a friend’s house which quickly became “a den of iniquity”.
“I was sexually adventurous from a young age… almost anything went, including having two girls at a time, having sex with girlfriends’ mothers and watching others have sex. It all seemed very natural to me. When I look back now at all the risks I took, I realise I could have had all kinds of sexually transmitted diseases but luckily I never have.”
“Sex became another sport for me,” he wrote. “I love women’s bodies and the fact every one is so different and I have always wanted to please them sexually. I was sexually adventurous from a young age… almost anything went. When I look back now at all the risks I took, I realise I could have had all kinds of sexually transmitted diseases but luckily I never have.”
Yet a risk taker prepared for some danger is exactly what the prosecution successfully branded Clifford as during his trial. He was described as a master in the art of manipulation and intimidation who used the same pattern time and again – of bragging about his contacts to naïve girls and young women who thought the man in front of them held their careers in his hands. He forced some of his victims to masturbate him in his office with the reward he would put in a good word with a producer or casting agent friend.
A risk-taker prepared for danger is how the prosecution successfully branded Clifford during his trial. He was described as a master in the art of manipulation and intimidation who used the same pattern of behaviour time and again: bragging about his contacts to naive girls and young women who thought the man in front of them held their careers in his hands. He forced some of his victims to masturbate him in his office, telling them he would put in a good word with a producer or casting agent friend.
Despite marrying young – he was 24, Liz 22 – Clifford’s casual attitude towards sex and women never changed. He had cheated on her with “one or two other girls” while they dating and marriage did not change him. “Although I did occasionally play away, I would never have left [Liz]. Nor did I stop loving her,” he said.
Despite marrying young – he was 24, his first wife Liz was 22 – Clifford’s casual attitude towards sex and women never changed. He had cheated on her with “one or two other girls” while they were dating and marriage did not change him. “Although I did occasionally play away, I would never have left [Liz],” he said.
After several years working as a press officer at EMI, and a year partnering with PRs Syd Gillingham and Chris Hutchins, the publicist was just 27 when he set up Max Clifford Associates. He soon moved into third floor offices above a hairdresser at 109 New Bond Street – the building where several of Clifford’s victims were indecently assaulted in what quickly became his “sexual fiefdom”.
The publicist was just 27 when he set up Max Clifford Associates and his office at 109 New Bond Street quickly became his “sexual fiefdom”.
It was around this time that Clifford invented a character he used over the next 30 years - referring to him as ‘John Brown’ in his book – where he would put on a different voice to quiz many of the women who came to visit him in his office. Clifford said he invented Brown to test people’s loyalty although admitted using the rouse in “mischievous ways”.
The jury heard of several occasions when Clifford put on what he called his “gay voice” or impersonated Hollywood stars, when calling models or wannabe actresses, telling women to turn up at Clifford’s office without wearing any knickers.
However, during his trial Clifford said the only voice he put on was that of a character he called ‘Terry Denton’, which he told jurors was a “gay voice”. The jury heard of several occasions where Clifford would put on an effeminate voice or impersonate Hollywood icons when calling young models or wannabe actresses. The prosecution said he constantly played games, for example telling women to turn up at Clifford’s office without wearing any knickers.
His victims, all teenagers, would be encouraged by the “Hollywood identity” to find out Mr Clifford’s “Achilles’ heel”. And when they arrived, he would unbutton his trousers and complain about his “tiny penis”.
His victims, all teenagers, would be encouraged by the “Hollywood identity” to find out Mr Clifford's “Achilles’ heel” and, when they returned to the PR expert’s playground he would unbutton his trousers and complain about his “tiny penis”.
As Clifford’s power base grew, so too did his audacity. Having organised pornography viewings for about 100 men in his twenties to subsidise his pay as a local journalist, Clifford branched out into sex parties for the rich and famous during the 1970s and 80s. He described them as “good, honest filth”.
As Clifford’s power base grew, so too did his audacity. Having organised blue-movie viewings for about 100 men at a time near where he lived in Morden, south west London, in his twenties to subsidise his pay as a local journalist, Clifford branched out into sex parties for the rich and famous during the 1970s and 80s.
“The parties became my circus and various people performed in different ways,” he wrote in his book. Clifford described “randy” women who were desperate to meet TV and film producers and badgered him to get an invite. “Fortunately I knew one or two agents who would issue false contracts in return for sexual favours,” he said. When asked about the sex parties during his trial, Clifford said “everyone was old enough to know what they were doing”.
He described them as “good, honest filth”. “I became the ringmaster, a role I like to have in many aspects of my life. The parties became my circus and various people performed in different ways,” he said in his book.
Naturally, he did not go home to his wife and discuss his day. He wrote: “I could enjoy the parties and then go home and enjoy being domestic. I’ve always been able to separate the various parts of my life.” One ex-mistress among those who became known as “Max’s Angels”, who was 19 when they had an affair, told his trial that Clifford was a “very kind, very caring man” who said he would never leave his wife. She claimed they had never had sex in his office, but Clifford admitted in court that he did have sex there with another employee, during another affair.
Clifford described “beautiful and randy” women desperate to meet TV and film producers who badgered him to get an invite. “Fortunately I knew one or two agents who would issue false contracts in return for sexual favours,” he said, oblivious to the double life he was now leading. When quizzed about the sex parties during his trial Clifford said “everyone was old enough to know what they were doing”.
One “gorgeous dark-haired model”, Ria, eventually fell pregnant while they were together but Clifford does not clarify in his book whether or not the child is his. He admits to never using contraception which was “stupid and risky”. He said: “We talked about whether or not she should have the child and I told her it had to be her decision.” The couple soon broke up when Ria met someone else.
Naturally, he did not go home to his wife and discuss his rather depraved day. He wrote: “It meant I could enjoy the parties and then go home and enjoy being domestic. I’ve always been able to separate the various parts of my life and give each my full attention.”
Clifford used to bet with friends he could walk on to New Bond Street and convince women to come up to his office to have revealing pictures taken. In his autobiography, he proudly describes convincing a “solidly built traffic warden in her 30s” to let him take topless photos of her after she said her ambition was to be on TV. Clifford got her a walk-on part on a Freddie Starr show.
His New Bond Street office was dominated by young attractive women who collectively became known as “Max’s Angels”, and Clifford often cheated on his wife with some of them.
The publicist accepted the reason so many people are keen to find out about the sex lives of the rich and famous is partly down to him. Having used his contacts with madams and prostitutes to satisfy every kind of sexual permutation desired by his clients while also keeping them discreet, by the 1990s he emerged as the go-to man for women dealing with a rampant tabloid press.
One ex-mistress, who was 19 when they had an affair, told his trial that Clifford was a “very kind, very caring man” who told her he would never leave his wife. The employee said the pair had never had sex in his office although Clifford admitted court he did have sex in his office with another employee with whom he had a two-year affair.
Clifford claimed during his trial that his victims were “fantasists and opportunists” who were describing “fairy stories” in a bid to get compensation, but the risk-taking had finally caught up with him.
His office angels seem devoted to him, at least the ones quoted in his book. “He is our father figure as well as our boss,” said Lucy Murphy. “I personally think of him as my guru and can’t imagine anyone I’d rather work for.”
“I’ve always said my downfall won’t be due to something I’m involved with but something I know nothing about,” he wrote in his autobiography. Yet the man with a jangling set of keys that could unlock thousands of secrets brought about his downfall all on his own.
If they were just casual encounters, Clifford certainly fell for two women he puts in a “special category”. He wrote: “One was a French girl who I used to see on a casual basis for several years. The other was someone I met when I was in my late 30s.”
This “gorgeous dark-haired model”, Ria, became so close to Clifford that he introduced her to his daughter Louise, who has battled juvenile rheumatoid arthritis since she was five, when she was in hospital during one of her many operations.
Ria eventually fell pregnant while they were together but Clifford does not clarify in his book whether or not the child is his. He admits to never using contraception which was “stupid and risky”. He said: “We talked about whether or not she should have the child and I told her it had to be her decision but that I loved kids and if she wanted to keep the baby, I would support him or her.”
The couple soon broke up when Ria met someone else and when Clifford bumped into her by chance in a gym in 2000, she had married and had four children.
His risk taking never went away. Clifford used to bet with friends he could walk onto New Bond Street and convince women to come up to his office to have revealing pictures taken. In his autobiography, he proudly describes convincing a “solidly built traffic warden in her thirties” to let him take topless photos of her after she said her ambition was to be on TV. Clifford got her a walk on part on a Freddie Starr show.
The publicist wrote that he accepted the reason so many people are keen to find out about the sex lives of the rich and famous is partly down to him. Having used his contacts with madams and prostitutes to satisfy every kind of sexual permutation the stars he represented wanted, and kept discrete, by the 1990s he emerged as the go to man for women dealing with a rampant tabloid press.
The ‘kiss and tell’ era was born when Spanish actress Antonia de Sancha sold her story to The Sun for 35,000 about her affair with then Tory cabinet minister David Mellor. The newspaper relied on many details supplied by Clifford which she admitted in an interview 10 years later where entirely fictional.
Clifford had always claimed during his trial that his victims were “fantasists and opportunists” who were describing “fairy stories” in a bid to get compensation, but the risk taking had finally caught up with him.
“I’ve always said my downfall won’t be due to something I’m involved with but something I know nothing about,” he wrote in his autobiography, yet he was wrong in one respect. The man with a jangling set of keys that could unlock thousands of secrets brought about his downfall all on his own.
