Sir Cliff Richard would never have got through the last four years without his Christian faith

He said of his religion: "I can only say it's the major thing that helped me get through the past four years.

"Having no faith would have left me hopelessly lost and in the dark.

"My good friends were always there for me and I couldn't have done without them either.

"But in the end, when you say good night and you close your eyes, there's nobody else but you. But for me there was someone.

"I never felt neglected or ignored by God. And that was a major factor. I believe it's God's presence that makes you see how committed other people are to you.

"With what I went through, it would have been easy to become self-centred.

"But I believed that the goodness that Jesus talked about let me see that my friends and family - and fans - were very concerned about me. There were really moments when I could not stop weeping and thinking, my God, I will get through this."

The 78-year-old singer is campaigning for a change in the law to prevent those accused of sexual offences to remain anonymous until charges are brought against them because he wouldn't want what happened to him to happen to his "worst enemy".

He told Event magazine: "I wouldn't want it to happen to my worst enemy.

"In Germany they pretty well follow Magna Carta, which says that everybody is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. They don't name anybody until they're found guilty. I can't see why we shouldn't do that here.

"What we're trying to do as a group - Paul Gambaccini, Lady Brittan and a number of other people - is ask for anonymity until, or unless, you're charged.

"If a charge is made, it's usually months, if not years, before it goes to court. So there's still time for people to come forward [with fresh evidence].

"The only time I will believe people who come forward is if they don't ask for compensation. We live in a compensation nation. We have lost trust, because how do we know when someone is telling the truth?

"So there's a fight ahead and I'm happy to be part of that army. Laws are changed by governments. If we get a chance to go to Parliament and talk about it, we will."