Met Police Launch Investigation Into David Walliams Over Alleged Serious Sexual Offences

Met launches separate probe

London’s Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into children’s author and comedian David Walliams over reports of alleged serious sexual offences after ITV News and The Guardian published allegations about his conduct.

+2Met Police probe Walliams8 of 8 outlets reported it▾

The Met said it had received a number of allegations of non-recent serious sexual offences involving a man now in his 50s, and it said the allegations it was investigating were separate from those reported by ITV and The Guardian.

Detective Superintendent Mike Cagney urged victims to come forward, saying, "We would encourage anyone who has been the victim of a sexual offence to come forward and speak to us, no matter when it happened."

Walliams denied the allegations and said he had not broken the law, writing, "I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law, but I am devastated that some of the women I met 10 to 20 years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me."

+1Walliams says he is devastated7 of 8 outlets reported it · not in The Independent▾

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Media reports and denials

ITV News and The Guardian reported that some women accused Walliams of grooming them when they were teenagers, and one woman characterised her alleged encounter at 15 as a sexual assault. The BBC said Walliams strongly denied he had any sexual contact with the girl, and it said he rejected any allegations of criminal activity and that he has never engaged in the grooming of young women.

Walliams told journalists in a letter that he realised he behaved thoughtlessly towards people he had casual sexual relationships with, writing, "Looking back, I realise that at times I behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with." Walliams also wrote that while a power imbalance was inevitable when one party is famous, abusing that power was something he said he never did, writing, "abusing that power is something else entirely and it is something that I never did."

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Calls to report, film fallout

The Met said it was proactively reviewing the reporting from ITV and The Guardian as part of its investigation to establish whether there was any evidence of offences, while specialist officers supported those who came forward. The Met also told the public it was possible to report information by calling 101 and providing the reference 4900/10NOV26, or by contacting the complex sexual offences unit on 0207 175 2738.

Specialist officers provide support6 of 8 outlets reported it · not in ABC7 Chicago and 1 more▾

Producers of Fing!, an upcoming film based on Walliams’ book, removed his cameo appearance and said Walliams "will have no involvement in the film's release or promotion," while Sky told Variety it was dropping the movie. The Doha Film Festival in Qatar removed Fing! from its lineup and cancelled the screening hours after the allegations were made public, and the festival said the production would no longer be part of its program running from November 19 to 27.

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