Max Clifford: PR Guru Arrives For Sentencing

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter

Shamed publicist Max Clifford has arrived at court where he will be sentenced this afternoon for eight sex offences.

The PR guru initially stayed silent as he spent nearly five minutes posing for photographers, at times standing on the street with his hands in his pockets.

But when asked by Sky's Tom Parmenter whether he had anything to say to his victims, he replied defiantly: "I stand by everything I've said in the past - everything."

The 71-year-old was then asked if that included his description of the women as "liars" and "fantasists".

Clifford climbs out of his car to face a bank of press photographers

At that point, he walked off, but willingly posed for more pictures as he strode towards the court entrance.

Earlier, Clifford, who is due to be sentenced at 2pm, refused to apologise to his victims when approached outside his Surrey home.

He admitted today was "not the best day of my life", adding: "I just have to face up to it."

The publicist is expected not only to say goodbye to his freedom but also to his high-profile PR business, which is set to close.

Clifford said he continues to 'stand by' everything he said in court

Max Clifford Associates, founded more than 20 years ago, was the go-to place for people wanting to promote their kiss-and-tell stories - as well as for celebrity clients including Simon Cowell, who has now unsurprisingly severed all links.

Although in recent years business had been falling away, latest financial records show Clifford's firm was still pulling in more than £1m a year.

During his eight-week trial, he told reporters his firm lost earnings of that amount.

Workers were in tears as Clifford was found guilty of eight counts of indecent assault against four women aged between 15 and 19 during an eight-year period from 1977.

Clifford's car parked outside the offices of his PR firm in April

The dozen all-female staff he employs were regulars in the public gallery at Southwark Crown Court but they are now all expected to lose their jobs when he is sentenced by judge Anthony Leonard.

The company moved from plush offices near Bond Street in central London to premises in Weybridge, Surrey, last year.

The office block is not far from Clifford's home, with his Bentley, featuring its personalised number plate, regularly seen on the High Street.

Lawyers are expected to announce the firm will shut as a result of Clifford's convictions and a staff member said: "We've been told not to say anything. There will be a statement, at some point after sentencing, that's all I can say."

Clifford's daughter Louise and several employees supported him at court

Employee Ann Duffy, who broke down in tears as the verdicts were returned, told Sky News: "This is the biggest injustice and I'm very distraught."

Other staff members were also clearly upset and said it had been "the most awful week".

The company's website was inaccessible within hours of the guilty verdicts being returned and at the same time a "horrified" Cowell cut links with Clifford as did Dragons' Den Star Theo Paphitis.

A source close to the PR firm said: "The girls are having long talks with lawyers and advisers. They know at the end of the day they are all going to lose their jobs. Max Clifford Associates will close and they will be out of work.

One of Clifford's employees told Sky News she had been left "distraught"

"No-one wants anything to do with the company and clients are distancing themselves. The girls are all upset - they backed Max all the way and now they have uncertain futures."

The source added: "As a friend and a former client of Max ... the Max that I know has always been a kind, generous and helpful person who has been a fantastic father.

"I hope he can spend his time in prison working out where things have gone wrong for him and come out and be the best person he can."

It has also emerged that earlier this year ago Clifford took out an unexplained £3.5m mortgage on his Surrey mansion with the suggestion being he wanted to put his money out of reach of victims looking for compensation.

Clifford in the 1990s with Antonia de Sancha, one of his best-known clients

During the trial he accused the woman who came forward detailing how he preyed on them of "jumping on a bandwagon" and trying to "cash in" on him by selling their stories.

There is also speculation that his wife of four years, Jo, is looking to divorce him - she was noticeably absent during his trial and was not even called as a character witness.

Last month she was seen near her Cotswolds home without her wedding ring and when approached by Sky News said she did not want to comment on the trial.

Legal experts say Clifford faces at least two years in jail as the judge will have to use guidelines in force when the offences were committed in the 1970s and 1980s.

He has already warned Clifford that being bailed was no indication of how he would be sentenced.

If the offences had been committed in the last decade he could have been given a life sentence, as two of the guilty verdicts on the 15-year-old girl victim involved serious sex crimes.

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