British PR guru Max Clifford held for sex offenses—reports

Celebrity publicist Max Clifford, right, accompanied by his wife, Jo Westwood, is shown in this Feb. 9, 2012, file photo as he arrives to testify at the final day of the first phase of the Leveson Inquiry, in central London. British police Thursday Dec. 6, 2012, arrested Clifford in connection with the broad investigation into child sex abuse spurred by the Jimmy Savile case. AP PHOTO/LEFTERIS PITARAKIS

LONDON—British police have arrested top publicist Max Clifford on suspicion of sexual offenses, it was widely reported on Thursday.

Police confirmed they had arrested a man in his 60s on Thursday under Operation Yewtree, an investigation into sex offenses sparked by allegations that late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile was a serial pedophile.

They would not name the suspect in line with police policy, but various news outlets named him as Clifford, one of Britain’s leading PR gurus.

Clifford’s office was not immediately available for comment.

“Officers working on Operation Yewtree have this morning, Thursday 6 December, arrested a man in his 60s in connection with the investigation,” Scotland Yard said in a statement.

“The man from Surrey (near London) was arrested at 07:40 hrs on suspicion of sexual offenses and has been taken into a central London police station.”