UK ministers eye quick curb on NDAs after Walliams allegations

UK ministers are looking for fast ways to limit non-disclosure agreements after allegations against David Walliams revived scrutiny of how the entertainment industry silences complainants, the Guardian reports.

An investigation by the Guardian and ITV News alleged that Walliams, one of Britain's best-known television personalities and a top-selling children's author, used his power and status to prey on young women for sex. Walliams denies any wrongdoing. There have been reports that an employer used an NDA to silence at least one woman connected to him.

The Employment Rights Act already bars NDAs that would stop employees disclosing possible harassment or discrimination. But the protection stops at the word "employee" — and the TV and film industries rely heavily on freelance and contract staff, who fall outside it. A recent government consultation examined extending the protection more widely; ministers now want that sped up. One official said the government is "very much in the space of looking at areas that we can change quickly and without legislation if there are loopholes." A separate possible change would let people who signed NDAs speak about crimes not just to police and regulators, as current law allows, but to anyone including the media.

Culture secretary Lisa Nandy, answering questions in the Commons, called NDAs "central" to the problem of enforced silence and said she was working with Ministry of Justice colleagues. She convenes a roundtable with TV, film, publishing and sport next week.

Campaigners had been pushing for these changes long before Walliams. Zelda Perkins, Harvey Weinstein's former assistant, broke her own NDA and has spent years arguing for wider protection. Russell Brand was jailed for rape and sexual assault on Monday.

Perkins said extending protections beyond employees is "absolutely key" — a formulation that concedes how much of the industry the current law never reached.