A London jury has retired to consider their verdicts in the trial of Rolf Harris who is accused of groping girls and women.

The 86-year-old entertainer is charged with six counts of indecent assault and one of sexual assault allegedly committed between 1971 and 2004 when the complainants were aged between 12 and 42.

In London’s Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday the jury of seven women and five men retired to deliberate after hearing the case summed up by Judge Alistair McCreath.

Harris, wearing a dark suit and tie, watched proceedings from a glass booth, appearing to listen attentively through court earphones.

He is serving jail time following convictions on similar charges at a trial in 2014.

Defence lawyer Stephen Vullo has accused complainants of lying and fabricating their claims that Harris groped them, inferring they did so in the hope of gaining financial compensation.

Prosecuting lawyer Jonathan Rees has argued that the entertainer’s previous convictions showed he had a propensity to indecently assault girls and young women when other people were nearby.

– AAP London Correspondent