The 72-year-old funnyman sued Karin Ward after she claimed in several interviews and an eBook that he had groped her backstage during the recording of a TV show in 1974.

Starr denied her allegation and launched legal action demanding $480,000 (£300,000) in damages for libel and slander, but on Friday (10Jul15), a judge at London's High Court ruled in favour of Ward, who is now aged 56.

Officials at Britain's Crown Prosecution Service launched an inquiry into Ward's allegation following the TV interviews in 2012 but no charges were brought against Starr.