Wolverhampton’s Pat McFadden: Staggered age of consent will be discussed to end abuses of power

A minister has said young women should not be at the mercy of powerful men as the Government faces calls to stagger the age of consent following allegations of sexual misconduct against entertainers David Walliams and Russell Brand.

It comes after a woman waived her right to anonymity to publicly claim she was raped by Brand as a 16-year-old schoolgirl, and follows separate reporting of a woman who alleged she was sexually assaulted by Walliams when she was 15.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said the country has been “appalled by the abuse of power by powerful men” and that “a big age gap can be part of that”.

Speaking on Sky News’s Sunday Morning With David Olusoga programme, he said: “So, I think what we’ve seen over the last week has certainly raised that question. There’ll be a number of issues to work through on it.

“I can’t give you a final answer on that today, but I do think that between Russell Brand, David Walliams, what’s been put out there, people are looking at these issues in a new light.

“They’re looking at powerful men abusing their position and that question, which has been raised I think by someone who was a victim of Russell Brand, has come out today is certainly something that ministers will talk about.”

He added: “What we’ll definitely do is think about whatever we can do to help people at the wrong end of these abuses of power.

“We’re already changing the nature of NDAs, which are used to silence people in the workplace on these issues.

“People have a right, young women have a right to feel safe at work, to come in and do their job, and not be at the mercy of powerful men abusing their position and their authority.”

Under UK law, adults of any age are legally able to have sex with 16 and 17-year-olds.

On the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, Mr McFadden referred to calls for a staggered age of consent, saying: “I think it’s certainly a question that has been raised and will be discussed, can’t tell you what the conclusion of that would be, but the last week has certainly put that up in lights.”

Shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately told Sky News about a potential law change: “If your teenage daughter comes home after spending time with somebody who’s in their 40s or my age, we’re like, ‘oh, there’s something funny going on here’, so I think it’s an interesting idea.

“I can’t say more than that because I haven’t had a time to think through what are the potential consequences of legislating on that, but I do think also as a society, you know, this is a moment to look again.”

Ms Whately, who has a 16-year-old daughter, suggested it may be time to act because now you see “so many people – and it seems to be in plain sight – going about abusing” and “taking advantage of young women”.

On Saturday, the woman who was referred to under the pseudonym of Alice in previous reporting by The Sunday Times, The Times, and a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary on Brand waived her anonymity.

Mia Latter, now 37, alleged she had been mistreated by jailed comedian Brand when she was a teenager and he was 30.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, Ms Latter called for the introduction of a staggered age of consent – which would make relationships between adults and teenagers aged 16 and 17 illegal.

She told the newspaper: “It’s shocking to me time and time again that whenever the news comes up again about him, it’s always in the comments about the relationship with a 16-year-old.

“That’s not the most heinous bit. But why is that the thing that everybody collectively gets stuck on? I think we all sort of agree that … adults shouldn’t be allowed to have sexual relationships with children, with somebody under the age of 18. That really doesn’t seem like a gigantic leap to take.”

Layla Stone founded the campaign group Close The Consent Gap, which is calling on the Government to change the law to protect 16 and 17-year olds from having sex with older adults.

Ms Stone told the Press Association: “The fact that his 16-year-old victim, Mia Latter, has alleged rape by Brand at that time but is unable to get justice for that, or even seek a criminal trial, is shocking to us.”

She said Ms Latter “should be protected by the law just for the very fact that she was 16” while Brand was 30, adding: “she shouldn’t have to prove anything beyond that”.

Ms Stone said: “The vulnerability that that power dynamic created should be enough to say that an illegal act was committed. Under the current law, it wasn’t.”

Brand was convicted of attacks against four of the six women who gave evidence against him, and he is now serving a 10-and-a-half-year prison term for one count of rape and three sexual assaults.

Earlier this week, it was announced that a series of “serious” sex offence allegations against Walliams are being examined by the Metropolitan Police following an investigation by The Guardian and ITV News on Tuesday.

One woman described her alleged encounter with Walliams when she was 15 as “sexual assault”.

The children’s author and comedian denies any wrongdoing.