'Damaging and totally untrue': Max Clifford speaks out against allegations after his arrest in Jimmy Savile sex abuse investigation Britain's best-known publicist Max Clifford secured half of his stated aim at 7.40am today when he was arrested by police investigating claims of historical sex abuse. Mr Clifford, 69, the fabled master spinner and friend to the stars, was arrested at his Surrey home on suspicion of "sexual offences" and questioned at a central London police station, before being released on bail tonight. Mr Clifford, whose arrest is understood not to be directly linked with Savile, said last night that the allegation dated back to 1977. Standing outside the police station, he said in a short statement that the claims were "damaging and totally untrue," adding they were "very distressing for myself, my wife, my family and loved ones." Scotland Yard declined to give further details about the nature of the allegations today, but Mr Clifford had already been centre stage in the saga. "It is a situation which could easily turn into a witch-hunt, a lot of big stars are frightened," he said during a round of media interviews. "Where is it going to end?" he asked. He later told the Leveson Inquiry that he had recognised it would be great publicity for Starr as he embarked on a new tour. He has since had his fingerprints on numerous classic tabloid front-page stories involving David Beckham, David Mellor, Jude Law and Sven-Goran Eriksson. He has also been caught on camera talking about how he successfully suppressed scandals. Mr Starr was one of the other five men arrested during the course of the investigation. Gary Glitter, the former radio DJ Dave Lee Travis and former television producer Wilfred De'Ath have all been arrested and subsequently bailed. The spokesman's spokeswoman With the master publicist unavailable for comment until late last night, the task of confirming Max Clifford's arrest today fell to his solicitor, Charlotte Harris, below, a media specialist at law firm Mishcon de Reya. She represented Mr Clifford in 2010 when News International settled his phone-hacking case for £991,000. The website of Max Clifford Associates, the company he set up in the 1970s after working as a reporter and music PR, had no mention of the arrest. However, a fundraising dinner at which he was due to speak on Monday has been cancelled.