Key facts
- Culture secretary Lisa Nandy is expected to meet entertainment industry leaders next week to discuss protections.
- The government could act if voluntary action on abuse and harassment protections is deemed insufficient.
- One option is making it mandatory for companies to sign up to the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority.
- Walliams, 55, denies any wrongdoing after the Guardian and ITV News published allegations.
- Russell Brand was jailed for more than 10 years on Monday for rape and sexual assault.
Ministers are considering changing the law to force the entertainment industry to better protect women and children, following revelations about David Walliams and the conviction of Russell Brand. Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, is expected to meet industry leaders next week, including representatives from television, film and publishing, and potentially sport.
The hope is that the sectors will voluntarily strengthen protections. It is understood the government could look at acting if ministers believe there is insufficient action on protections against abuse and harassment, and to encourage whistleblowing. One option if legislation is needed could be to make it mandatory for companies to sign up to the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority, which tackles bullying and harassment in the sector via confidential whistleblowing. One government official said the expectation was for voluntary action. "The instinct is that Lisa would like the industries to show they are about to sort this out themselves, but we are not squeamish about stepping in if that does not happen," they said.
There have been widespread calls for action after the publication of an investigation by the Guardian and ITV News setting out accusations that Walliams, one of Britain's best-known television personalities and a top-selling children's author, used his power and status to prey on young women for sex. Walliams, 55, denies any wrongdoing. The allegations were published after a court rejected an attempt by Walliams aimed at preventing publication.
The justice secretary, Alex Norris, said on Wednesday he accepted there was "a lot of concern" about powerful men using the legal system to silence accusers, which could include seeking injunctions, as with Walliams, or using non-disclosure agreements. Later on Wednesday, Norris told the House of Lords justice and home affairs committee: "This has been a source of conversation and engagement in parliament for a long time but brought into relief recently, particularly the way in which powerful men used the system in order to silence people."
Speaking after prime minister's questions, Andy Burnham's official spokesperson called the allegations about Walliams "deeply troubling". He said: "Men in positions of power, using their influence to exploit vulnerable young women and girls, is evident in this case, and it's a pattern of behaviour that needs to change."
Speaking on BBC radio on Wednesday morning, Louise Casey, who is leading an inquiry into sexual abuse grooming gangs, said the example of Brand, who was jailed for more than 10 years on Monday for rape and sexual assault, showed the "frankly appalling" way some men abused their power to attack women and girls. In another interview, with Sky News, Lady Casey said many people would be surprised to learn that men who had sex with girls aged 13, 14 or 15 were not automatically charged with rape, saying this should be changed.
Jess Phillips, who until May was the Home Office minister responsible for combating violence against women and girls, told BBC radio that the Walliams case was "an outlier" in that an injunction was overturned. She said: "There are many, many people in this country silenced by injunctions, silenced by non-disclosure agreements ... That is not new news."