Publicist and PR advisor Max Clifford is the first person to be convicted under Operation Yewtree. He was found guilty for eight out of 11 indecent assault charges. Today, Clifford was delivered an eight-year jail sentence.

Max Clifford is one of the UK’s best known publicists, he is famous for representing high-profile and celebrity clients, particularly in controversial cases. Clifford’s famous former clients include Simon Cowell, Jade Goody, former prostitute Pamela Bordes and comedian Freddie Starr.

During the trial, prosecutors portrayed Clifford as a manipulator who used his influence to promise girls a career-boosting opportunity in exchange for sexual favours. Clifford’s youngest victim was 15 and the incidences occurred between 1977 and 1985.

The conviction is significant for being the first conviction made under Operation Yewtree, a police investigation set up in light of the numerous sex offence allegations against Jimmy Saville, which only came to light after his death.

Clifford began life as a journalist and later moved into a PR role with EMI records. Max Clifford Associates was founded by Clifford in 1970 at the age of 27, but it was his ‘Freddie Starr ate my hamster’ tabloid story that first brought him to the public eye, since then he has become almost as recognisable as his clients.

In 2012 Clifford gave evidence at the Leveson inquiry and in April 2013 he was charged with indecent assault. Clifford, who made a living out of spin, will find it hard to keep this story out of the papers.