Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has warned entertainment bosses that the Government will step in to protect women from celebrity abusers, following Russell Brand's rape conviction and a series of allegations against David Walliams.
Ms Nandy informed MPs that ministers "would not hesitate" to intervene should the safeguards prove insufficient. Addressing the Commons, she condemned the BBC's failure to act following investigations into the conduct of other prominent broadcasters over the past decade.
She additionally revealed plans to address the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) at a forthcoming meeting with media and entertainment industry leaders next week.
Brand Sentenced, Walliams Faces Allegations
Brand, 51, received a prison sentence this week after being convicted of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others throughout his professional life. He has been jailed for 10 years.
Meanwhile, fellow comic Walliams was identified as part of a joint investigation by the Guardian and ITV News the day following Brand's sentencing. The bestselling writer and former Britain's Got Talent panellist faces allegations of sexual misconduct and exploiting his position to groom teenagers as young as 15, though he refutes any wrongdoing.
Government Threatens Further Action
Ms Nandy stated during departmental questions: "They are the latest in a long line of reported abuses of power in an industry where we've known for so long that power imbalances are huge and that reputation and contacts are the foundations on which careers are built.
"Next week I will be meeting with representatives from across media, entertainment and sport to discuss the action that we need to take. But I want to be clear with this House, that if those protections are insufficient, the Government will not hesitate to take further action.
"For too long too many people have had to choose between their career and their safety. People must be safe in their jobs. Whistleblowers must be protected and those who abuse their position must no longer be able to hide."
Criticism of BBC and NDAs
Shadow culture secretary Rebecca Paul questioned whether the Government would apply pressure on the BBC during charter negotiations to handle workplace complaints and misconduct more robustly. Ms Paul demanded a "zero-tolerance" approach.
Ms Nandy responded: "She is right to say that there were significant problems that were uncovered at the BBC through this.
"I have to say I am deeply frustrated that we've had so many reviews, the first the Dame Janet Smith review into Jimmy Savile, we had the review into the conduct of Huw Edwards, we had reviews into the conduct of Tim Westwood.
"Frankly, if you put those reviews next to each other and look at the recommendations, these are the same recommendations that are made over and over again, and I will not accept that we cannot get our act together and make sure that our public service broadcaster of whom this country is rightly very proud cannot uphold better standards and processes than we've seen to date."
Dame Caroline Dinenage, who chairs the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, accused entertainment powerhouses of deploying NDAs as a shield for their public image. The Gosport MP stated: "They have been at best shielded and at worst enabled by some of the organisations they worked with.
"We keep hearing reports that NDAs and confidentiality agreements were part of the arsenal of these stars.
"What is the Government doing to ensure that these legal routes can't be used to stop victims speaking out and to shield revolting men from facing the music for their abusive behaviour?"
Ms Nandy acknowledged that Ms Dinenage was "absolutely right" in identifying NDAs as "central" to the issue. "I am working closely with colleagues at MoJ," 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."
