Rolf Harris to face UK court for further sexual assault charges

He is currently serving a term of nearly six years in Stafford Prison after being convicted in July 2014 of indecently assaulting four girls in Britain between 1968 and 1986. Photo / Getty Images

Disgraced entertainer Rolf Harris is set to front a London court on a further seven counts of indecent assault against girls and women.

The 85-year-old Australian-born artist and musician is due to appear in Westminster Magistrates Court on Thursday.

He is currently serving a term of nearly six years in Stafford Prison after being convicted in July 2014 of indecently assaulting four girls in Britain between 1968 and 1986.

Last month the Crown Prosecution Service said there was sufficient evidence to charge Harris with a further seven counts of indecent assault dating between 1971 and 2004, relating to seven complainants aged between 12 and 27 at the time.

Harris is the most high-profile figure to have been convicted since police launched Operation Yewtree to investigate celebrity sex crimes, following revelations in 2012 that late BBC TV host Jimmy Savile had been a prolific child abuser.

The entertainer shot to fame in the 1960s with comedic songs like Jake the Peg and became a major television personality in the UK.

In March last year the Queen stripped him of his CBE, a week after he was told to hand back his Order of Australia honours.

She had appointed Harris a Commander of the Order of the British Empire - one step below a knighthood - a year after he painted her portrait to mark her 80th birthday.
Harris is reportedly planning to release an album of songs he has composed in prison.

- AAP