When a government begins to threaten compulsion against an industry that has long preferred to police itself, the question stops being only who did what and becomes what a society owes to those who speak. Here, the Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is preparing to tell broadcasters, publishers and entertainment leaders that a voluntary standards body designed to protect whistleblowers may soon be made mandatory, after serious allegations against the entertainer David Walliams, who denies them, surfaced through a three-year joint investigation by the Guardian and ITV News. The moment echoes the sent
Government Threatens to Force Media Industry Into Safeguarding Body After Walliams Allegations
Several women allege Walliams groomed or sexually assaulted them as teenagers, and a producer reports being warned to keep him away from young female staff.
"The people who need to be monitored are the people who are not joining."
Mark
Why is the government threatening compulsion now, rather than just trusting the industry?
Mimi
Because two cases landed together: the Walliams allegations and Russell Brand's sentencing. Nandy wants the industry to act first, but she is holding intervention in reserve.
Mark
What does CIISA actually change if it becomes mandatory?
Mimi
Zelda Perkins's point is that voluntary membership means the people most needing monitoring simply don't join. She says no other regulator works that way.
Luke
Careful, though. The reporting says what Nandy is understood to be planning to say. Nothing has been announced, and the round table hasn't happened.
Mark
And the Walliams allegations themselves?
Mimi
They come from a three-year Guardian and ITV News investigation. Some women describe grooming as teenagers, and one calls an encounter at 15 a sexual assault. He denies everything and says he is not a predator and hasn't broken the law.
Luke
He also admitted behaving thoughtlessly in casual relationships. That's not an admission of the allegations. And the producer's account is anonymous, with his lawyers denying he was ever warned.
Mark
So what's solid here?
Luke
The policy signal and the allegations' existence are solid. The truth of the claims is not established in this reporting.
Mimi
And the NDA push is separate but linked: ministers say wealthy, powerful men shouldn't be able to silence women. Whether legislation follows is unknown.
Der Puls
- Ministers are preparing an ultimatum: join the CIISA watchdog or be compelled to.
- Several women allege Walliams groomed or sexually assaulted them as teenagers, and he firmly denies wrongdoing.
- A former producer says she was warned to keep him away from young female staff, years before the allegations emerged.
- Ministers are also weighing tighter limits on non-disclosure agreements that may be used to silence women.
- The industry faces a round table next week, and its answer will determine whether voluntary standards survive.
When a government begins to threaten compulsion against an industry that has long preferred to police itself, the question stops being only who did what and becomes what a society owes to those who speak. Here, the Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is preparing to tell broadcasters, publishers and entertainment leaders that a voluntary standards body designed to protect whistleblowers may soon be made mandatory, after serious allegations against the entertainer David Walliams, who denies them, surfaced through a three-year joint investigation by the Guardian and ITV News. The moment echoes the sentencing of Russell Brand, and it asks an old and uncomfortable question: whether silence in powerful workplaces is protected by habit, contract, and reputation, or whether the rules can finally be changed around the people who must live within them.
Next week, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy will gather leaders from broadcasting, publishing, film and entertainment, and she is expected to bring a clear warning. If the industry's response to recent allegations is not strong enough, the government is prepared to make participation in the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority, known as CIISA, compulsory. For now, joining that whistleblower-protection body remains voluntary. Nandy has said she wants to draw a line.
The pressure follows a joint three-year investigation by the Guardian and ITV News into the entertainer David Walliams, published after he lost a legal bid to block it. Several women accuse him of sexual misconduct and of abusing his position, and some say he groomed them as teenagers. One describes an encounter at 15 as a sexual assault. Walliams denies all allegations, saying he is "not a sexual predator" and has broken no law, though he has acknowledged behaving thoughtlessly in some casual relationships. His lawyers deny he was ever warned about messaging young runners.
Another voice has emerged from inside a past production. A producer who worked with Walliams years ago says she was told to keep him away from young female staff, and that he was known to be "creepy" and "inappropriate." She says she was not surprised by the allegations.
Ministers are also looking at non-disclosure agreements. Bridget Phillipson argued there is scope to go further so that the law cannot be used to silence women. Campaigner Zelda Perkins, who broke an NDA to speak about Harvey Weinstein, says safeguards around powerful figures remain weak and that the industry still operates like the wild west. As she put it, you cannot change people, but you can change the rules around them.
What happens next will depend on the round table and on whether ministers move to tighten the rules on NDAs.
Next week, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy will sit down with leaders from broadcasting, publishing, film and entertainment, and the BBC's Newsnight understands she will bring an ultimatum with her. If the industry's response to recent allegations is not robust enough, the government is prepared to force companies to take part in the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority, known as CIISA, a body meant to protect whistleblowers. Participation is currently voluntary.
Nandy said earlier this week that she was summoning these leaders to "draw a line" in the sand. The meeting follows two events: the publication of allegations against the entertainer David Walliams, and the sentencing of disgraced entertainer Russell Brand on charges of rape and sexual assault.
The Walliams allegations come from a joint three-year investigation by the Guardian and ITV News. It was published after Walliams lost a legal bid to stop the claims being made public. Several women accuse him of sexual misconduct and of abusing his position. Some say he groomed them when they were teenagers, and one now describes her alleged encounter with him at 15 as a sexual assault. Walliams denies all the allegations. In a letter to journalists published by the paper, he said he was "not a sexual predator" and had not broken the law. He also said he realised that at times he had behaved thoughtlessly towards other people he had casual sexual relationships with, and that he regretted not always taking their feelings properly into account.
Separately, a producer who worked on a TV show where Walliams appeared as a celebrity guest several years ago has told the BBC she was instructed to keep him away from young female staff. Speaking anonymously, she said she was warned he was "creepy" and "inappropriate", and that it was well known he should not be put with young female runners. She said she was not at all surprised when the allegations emerged. The Guardian reported that Walliams's lawyers say he was never warned or "got into trouble" for messaging runners, and deny that he behaved inappropriately or harassed young women in the workplace.
Newsnight understands Nandy will deliver two messages. First, that industry leaders must meet the moment, take responsibility and tackle safeguarding themselves. Second, that if their response falls short, the government may have to step in, and that intervention could include making CIISA participation compulsory.
The pressure extends to non-disclosure agreements. On Wednesday, multiple ministers called for further restrictions on their use. Women and Equalities minister Bridget Phillipson told Sky News there was "scope to go further" on legislation, so the legal system is not "abused in order to silence women". She said: "We cannot have a system where rich and powerful individuals, rich and powerful men, are able to silence women and stop things coming to light."
Zelda Perkins, founder of Can't Buy My Silence, told Newsnight there are "not enough safeguards" around high-profile people in the creative industries and that joining CIISA should be mandatory. A former assistant to jailed film producer Harvey Weinstein, she broke an NDA in 2017 to speak publicly about his mistreatment of women. She noted that no other regulatory bodies are voluntary to join, and that "obviously the people who need to be monitored are the people who are not joining". The industry, she said, is still "very wild west", and while "you can't change the humans, you can change the rules around them".
Comedian Kate Smurthwaite said Walliams's name came up "over and over again", with a "sense of worry" about him working with young people. Asked why such allegations take so long to surface, she pointed to the backlash women face, which might be legal, damage to a career, or as subtle as being seen as a problem.
What to watch is the outcome of next week's round table, and whether ministers move to tighten the rules on NDAs.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
We cannot have a system where rich and powerful individuals, rich and powerful men, are able to silence women and stop things coming to light.— Bridget Phillipson, Women and Equalities minister
Joining CIISA should be mandatory; there are not enough safeguards around high-profile people.— Zelda Perkins, founder of Can't Buy My Silence
Möchten Sie die ganze Geschichte?
Das Original lesen bei BBC News ↗