Max Clifford, Britain's disgraced public relations guru, was today jailed for eight years for a string of sexual assaults against women as young as 15.

The well-known publicist is the first high-profile person to be convicted under Operation Yewtree, a Scotland Yard probe launched over sexual assaults dating back many years.

The 71-year-old was found guilty of eight counts of indecent assault relating to four women between 1977 and 1984. Judge Anthony Leonard, during the sentencing, said Clifford, who had also represented Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty soon after her 'Celebrity Big Brother' win in 2007, had "groomed and degraded" his victims.

He said Clifford had thought he was "untouchable." Leonard ruled that Clifford should serve his eight sentences of between six and 24 months consecutively. Clifford was arrested by detectives in December 2012 and charged in April 2013.