UK Government Moves to Limit NDAs After Walliams Allegations
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is coordinating legal changes to prevent non-disclosure agreements from covering up harassment and discrimination following allegations against David Walliams.
The UK government is exploring rapid legal changes to restrict the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to conceal harassment and discrimination. The initiative follows allegations that author and television personality David Walliams used his status to prey on young women, with reports that NDAs were used to silence at least one victim.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is coordinating the effort with the Ministry of Justice. She will convene a roundtable next week with representatives from sport, publishing, and the creative industries to discuss expanding protections to volunteers and freelancers, who currently lack certain safeguards under the Employment Rights Act. The government is also considering measures that would allow crime victims and witnesses to speak with the media without violating NDAs.
In a separate legal push, the government is working to ensure that any adult engaging in penetrative sex with a child under 16 is automatically charged with rape. This move follows recommendations from a review into grooming gangs conducted by Louise Casey.
