Gary Glitter, the disgraced pop star born Paul Gadd, has pleaded not guilty to eight charges of historic sexual abuse against a girl who was aged between eight and eleven at the time. Appearing via videolink at Southwark Crown Court, the 82-year-old denied allegations that he gave the child chocolate to lure her into his west London home, where he is accused of committing the offences. The case matters because it revisits Glitter's history of child sex offences decades after his initial convictions, with prosecutors now pursuing separate historic allegations dating back nearly 50 years.

The charges relate to alleged offences committed between 1978 and 1981 in Kensington and Chelsea, and include unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, indecent assault and gross indecency. The allegations were reported to Scotland Yard in January last year, and Glitter was interviewed by police in July 2025. In the 1970s he was one of Britain's biggest glam rock stars, selling around 18 million records with hits including Rock and Roll and I'm the Leader of the Gang, though he no longer holds the rights to his music and receives no royalties.