Gary Glitter to begin trial over historic child sex offences

Former glam rock singer Gary Glitter is set to begin his trial accused of a string of historic child sex offences.

Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, faces 10 charges against three alleged victims during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The 70-year-old is due to stand trial at Southwark Crown Court accused of one count of attempted rape and another of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 13 in 1975.

He is also accused of four counts of indecent assault against a second complainant when she was under the age of 13 in 1977.

The former singer also faces a claim of giving the same girl alcohol to "stupefy and overpower" her to have sex with him and another charge of unlawful intercourse in relation to the same alleged victim.

Glitter is also accused of two counts of indecent assault against a third complainant aged 13 or 14 at the time of the alleged offences between 1 October 1979 and 31 December 1980.

He denies all the charges against him. Glitter was the first person to be arrested under Operation Yewtree, the Met Police inquiry into alleged sex offences set up in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.