Ministers weigh law change to shield women from TV industry abuse

Lisa Nandy is expected to sit down with entertainment leaders next week to press for stronger safeguards against abuse and harassment. The culture secretary's list reaches beyond television into film and publishing, and potentially sport. Ministers want the sectors to tighten protections themselves, but they are keeping the law in reserve.

The pressure follows a Guardian and ITV News investigation accusing Walliams, 55, of using his power and status to prey on young women for sex. Walliams, one of Britain's best-known television personalities and a top-selling children's author, denies any wrongdoing. The allegations were published only after a court rejected his attempt to block them. On Monday, Russell Brand was jailed for more than 10 years for rape and sexual assault.

If legislation becomes necessary, one option is making it mandatory for companies to sign up to the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority, which tackles bullying and harassment through confidential whistleblowing. A government official said the expectation is voluntary action. The official said the instinct was that Nandy would like the industries to show they are about to sort this out themselves, but that ministers are not squeamish about stepping in if that does not happen.

Justice secretary Alex Norris told the House of Lords justice and home affairs committee on Wednesday that there was a lot of concern about powerful men using the legal system to silence accusers, through injunctions or non-disclosure agreements. He said the legal regime governing those tools must be robust and strike the fair balance it ought to. Earlier, Andy Burnham's official spokesperson called the Walliams allegations deeply troubling, saying men in positions of power exploiting vulnerable young women and girls is a pattern of behaviour that needs to change.

Louise Casey, who is leading an inquiry into sexual abuse grooming gangs, said Brand's case showed the frankly appalling way some men abused their power to attack women and girls. She told Sky News that many people would be surprised to learn men who have sex with girls aged 13, 14 or 15 are not automatically charged with rape, and said that should change. Casey added that the country needs to move mountains, and to move them quickly.

Jess Phillips, who until May was the Home Office minister responsible for combating violence against women and girls, called the Walliams case an outlier because an injunction was overturned. She said many people in Britain remain silenced by injunctions and non-disclosure agreements, adding: that is not new news.