11 charges of sexual assault against teenage girls over 20 years: Max Clifford pleads not guilty as court case begins

Alleged offences relate to the 1960s, 70s and 80s

Max Clifford arrives at Westminster Magistrates Court with his wife Jo (Reuters)

PR guru Max Clifford denied sexually assaulting six girls aged between 15 and 19 this morning.

Appearing at Westminster Magistrates Court in London, Mr Clifford pleaded not guilty to 11 charges relating to offences he is accused of committing in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Wearing a dark blue suit and white shirt with open collar, he spoke to confirm his name and address, and to deliver his not guilty pleas as the charges were read out to him.

The prosecution told the court Mr Clifford faced five to six years in prison if convicted on all charges. Speaking outside court, he said he wanted to “prove the allegations to be without foundation”.

Mr Clifford added: “I’m totally innocent of these allegations and the nightmare continues. All I know is up until the ‘Jimmy Savile’ situation no one ever said anything about me at all.

“This is a nightmare for myself and my family and has been since December when I was arrested in a very public way. What I’ve got to do now is to prove that these allegations are totally without foundation, which I know they are.”

He said his lawyers were just being informed who the alleged victims are. Mr Clifford added: “Since December I’ve been in the dark and people have made accusations from a long time ago.” Mr Clifford was surrounded by photographers as he left court soon after the hearing.

Judge Riddle granted Mr Clifford bail until the next hearing on June 12 on condition that he live at his Surrey home, that he not have any unsupervised contact with anyone younger than 18-years-old, and that he not contact any prosecution witnesses.

The court heard that Mr Clifford’s alleged crimes “spanned a 20-year period” and was a “continued pattern of sexually predatory behaviour”.

Mr Clifford is known for representing celebrities including Simon Cowell and Jade Goody. He was arrested in December and charged last month and will next appear at Southwark Crown Court.