The Metropolitan Police has said it has not received any reports of sexual assault or any other offences relating to David Walliams, as a government minister urged women who believe the television star committed crimes against them to contact the force.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Met said it was aware of media reports about allegations involving a man in his 50s, but stressed that no related reports had been made to police.
“The Met has not received any related reports of sexual assault or any other offences,” a spokesperson said. “Should we receive any reports, they will be carefully assessed. Anyone who contacts the police will be supported by specialist officers.”
The force said that last week it had contacted the media organisations involved in civil proceedings relating to the protection of the individual’s identity, to make sure any potential victims they had spoken to could be told how to report any criminal allegations to police. Reports can be made by calling 101, quoting the reference 4900/10NOV26.
Minister urges women to come forward
Climate minister Katie White, speaking on the morning media round on Wednesday, urged anyone who believes Walliams committed a crime against them to go to the police.
Ms White, who had watched a documentary about the investigation on Tuesday night, said: “Watching that documentary last night was really disturbing. It was awful.” She praised the bravery of the women who have spoken out, saying: “I could feel their trauma that they’ve carried for all of those years.”
She added: “These are serious allegations and I really encourage the women to put forward those allegations to the Met so they can fully investigate them.”
How the allegations emerged
Walliams, 55, the bestselling children’s author and former Britain’s Got Talent judge, was named on Tuesday as the famous man at the centre of an investigation by The Guardian and ITV News into alleged sexual misconduct. He had tried to obtain an injunction to prevent the reporting of the allegations against him.
According to the investigation, Walliams has been accused of sexual misconduct and of abusing his power to groom teenagers as young as 15. One woman described her alleged encounter with Walliams, when she was 15, as a sexual assault, while another said he had groomed her into a sexual relationship when she was 16. Several other sources have made allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards women.
Walliams denies any wrongdoing. He has yet to respond publicly since his name was published on Tuesday, but in a letter understood to have been sent several months ago to journalists working on the investigation, he wrote: “I realise I did not always take people’s feelings properly into account. That is something I regret.” He added: “I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law, but I am devastated that some of the women I have met have felt this way.”
He has sold more than 60 million copies of his children’s books around the world.
Publisher, agent and party cut ties
The fallout from the naming has been swift. The BBC has begun removing programmes featuring Walliams, including Little Britain, from iPlayer while it reviews the situation. The BBC’s decision to take the shows down was reported on Tuesday, hours after the allegations became public.
HarperCollins UK, his publisher, confirmed it had previously terminated its publishing agreements with Walliams. A spokesperson said the company takes the safety of its people incredibly seriously, but could not comment further to respect the privacy of individuals.
Walliams has also been dropped by his literary agent, the Soho Agency, which said it would be taking no further action at this time in respect of its agreement with him. His Labour Party membership has been suspended, and Downing Street has described the allegations as horrifying.
No charges have been brought against Walliams, and the allegations remain unproven. He was named publicly on Tuesday after the Guardian and ITV News investigation was published.
