Lisa Nandy Vows Government Will Ensure Vile Men Face Justice
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told the House of Commons the government will ensure vile men are exposed and brought to justice, after a three-year investigation into David Walliams. She said non-disclosure agreements will be discussed at a creative industries round table next week.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the government will ensure vile men are exposed and brought to justice, telling the House of Commons on Thursday that non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) will be part of talks with creative industry leaders next week.
She was answering a question after a three-year joint investigation into David Walliams by ITV News and the Guardian. The investigation reported allegations dating back to 2003 that he preyed on teenage girls and young women for sexual purposes.
Nandy's answer in the Commons
Nandy said the government "will not hesitate to take action to protect women and to ensure that ... vile men are exposed and brought to justice".
Conservative MP Dame Caroline Dineage had asked what the government was doing to stop NDAs and confidentiality agreements being used to silence victims and shield abusers. She said entertainment giants had knowingly exploited power imbalances and been "at best shielded and at worst enabled" by organisations they worked with.
Nandy agreed that NDAs were central. She said she was working closely with colleagues at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and had discussed the issue with them in recent days.
"This will be part of the conversation that we have with the creative industries when I convene the round table next week," she said.
What the investigation reported
Several women accuse Walliams of grooming them when they were teenagers. One says he began contacting her when she was 15, after she met him at a Little Britain fan event. She says a sexual relationship began when she was 17.
Another woman said she was "shaking" when she received a "threatening" letter from Walliams' lawyers. She had tried to warn others about him online.
ITV News says similar processes are used in publishing. It knows of at least one woman who spoke to an inquiry launched by Walliams' former book publisher, HarperCollins, where he was accused of inappropriate conduct and sexual harassment of staff. She signed a separation agreement with a non-disclosure clause and received a five-figure sum.
Walliams denies wrongdoing
Responding to the investigation, Walliams said: "Looking back, I realise that at times I behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with." He added: "That is something I regret."
He also said: "I am not a sexual predator... I have not broken the law... I am devastated that some of the women I met ten to twenty years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me." He said he never acted inappropriately or harassed young women at HarperCollins.
HarperCollins UK said it had previously terminated its publishing relationship with Walliams. "We take the safety of our people incredibly seriously, and to respect the privacy of individuals we do not comment on employee matters," the publisher said.
Downing Street has described the allegations as "deeply troubling". Nandy's round table with the creative industries is due next week.
