UK Ministers Race to Close NDA Loopholes After Walliams Allegations

UK ministers are working on quick legal changes to stop non-disclosure agreements covering up harassment and discrimination, after reports that an employer used an NDA to silence at least one woman connected to David Walliams. The moves could extend protections beyond employees to freelancers and volunteers — a gap that matters enormously in TV, film, publishing and sport, where contract staff dominate.

The trigger was an investigation by the Guardian and ITV News, which reported that Walliams used 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.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy will meet representatives from TV, film, publishing and sport next week to discuss possible new protections. A government official set out the thinking: "We are very much in the space of looking at areas that we can change quickly and without legislation if there are loopholes. It is still early but extending these protections beyond employees is definitely the sort of thing we are looking at."

That timeline claim deserves scrutiny. Nothing has been drafted, no date set, and the official's hedge — "it is still early" — sits uneasily beside ministers' talk of speed.

What does current law actually cover?

The Employment Rights Act already bars NDAs being used to stop employees disclosing possible harassment or discrimination. But the shield stops at the employment line. Freelancers, volunteers and contract workers — the backbone of creative industries — fall outside it.

Separate legislation prevents NDAs from stopping victims or witnesses of crime giving information to specified bodies such as police or regulators. Another possible change would widen that so people could speak about crimes to anyone, including the media. For employers who use NDAs as containment tools, that would remove most of their value.

A government consultation on extending the employee protection had already examined these questions. The pressure to act has now accelerated, in a week when Russell Brand was jailed on Monday for rape and sexual assault.

Who is pushing the government?

Campaigners had been demanding stronger safeguards before the Walliams allegations surfaced. Zelda Perkins, a former personal assistant to Harvey Weinstein, broke an NDA that barred her discussing the now-jailed producer's predatory behaviour and has become a leading campaigner against NDA misuse.

She said she hoped the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST), which is leading the work, would be galvanised by the Walliams case. "I have great confidence that [DBIST] are trying to create the best possible version of this," she said. "But extending protections over harassment and discrimination beyond employees is absolutely key, and this is something where we need to keep up the pressure. The last couple of weeks have really highlighted the issues around this."

Note what Perkins offers: confidence in intent, coupled with an explicit warning that pressure must continue — a signal she does not trust momentum alone.

What did Nandy say in Parliament?

Answering questions in the Commons on Wednesday, Nandy agreed with a Conservative question about the need to stop NDA abuse, calling the agreements "central" to the problem of enforced silence.

"I am working closely with colleagues at MoJ [Ministry of Justice]," she said. "I've discussed this issue with them over recent days. This will be part of the conversation that we have with the creative industries when I convene the roundtable next week."

Her words commit to a conversation, not an outcome. The roundtable next week will show whether cross-departmental coordination produces concrete measures or another consultation cycle.

Is a separate criminal law change coming?

On a separate track, likely in the longer term, ministers are expected to change the law so any adult who has penetrative sex with a child under 16 would automatically be charged with rape. Louise Casey's review into sexual abuse grooming gangs, published last year, recommended the change after concerns that some gang members faced less serious charges by claiming the victim had consented.

Lady Casey has called for swifter action to protect children and young people from high-profile men, and urged ministers to close such loopholes. An official was blunt about the pace: "This was happening anyway, but there is pressure to move quickly in the light of this week. We are looking at it, but we don't yet know when it might happen."

What happens next?

The next test is Nandy's roundtable with creative industries next week. If ministers deliver non-legislative fixes that cover freelancers, the NDA playbook used against contractors loses much of its force — but until measures are published, every promise here remains a promise, not a protection.