In today’s newsletter: Our joint investigation with ITV into David Walliams might never have seen the light of day, but his unprecedented attempt to stop publication was rejected by the High Court
Good morning. Rumours had been circulating for months. A famous man was attempting to stop the Guardian and ITV News from publishing allegations that he used his power and celebrity to prey on young women and teenagers for sex. Many guessed his identity; stories about his general conduct had occasionally made the news. But these allegations were far more severe and far-reaching.
Yesterday, the Guardian’s investigations team named that man as the comedian, television presenter and children’s author David Walliams.
This investigation is the result of meticulous reporting and interviews with multiple women, some of whom allege that Walliams groomed, pursued and harassed them, two when they were 15. The allegations span nearly two decades. Had the injunction that Walliams’ legal team sought against the Guardian and ITV News been granted, these allegations would never have come to light.
For today’s First Edition, I spoke to the Guardian’s investigations correspondent Maeve McClenaghan, one of the journalists who has been working on this story. First, here are the headlines.
Five big stories
UK news | A US soldier with alleged links to Russia has been arrested as part of an investigation by British counter-terrorism police, working closely with US authorities, the US military and the FBI.
US politics | House Republicans on Tuesday blocked an effort to impeach Pete Hegseth, rejecting allegations that the defence secretary had repeatedly violated the constitution through his handling of the Iran war and other conflicts globally.
US news | Nvidia and its chief executive, Jensen Huang, have been accused of misleading shareholders in a lawsuit over the Chinese spying scandal engulfing the $4.3tn (£3.2tn) company.
Cop31 | China is leading the world in moving away from fossil fuels, and the rest of the globe – including the US – must now follow, the former US secretary of state John Kerry has told the Guardian.
Gaza | An independent professor who reviewed the medical records of a prominent Gaza doctor held in an Israeli prison without charge for nearly 23 months has raised serious concerns about his health.
In depth: ‘If I rule in favour of this injunction, where will it end?’
Since making his name in the BBC sketch show Little Britain, David Walliams has become one of Britain’s most successful comedians and authors. He has worked as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent, an actor, and a prolific children’s author. He has cultivated a family-friendly image, particularly through his charity work – after swimming the Channel in 2006, he was voted Britain’s most “inspiring” public figure at the Pride of Britain awards, and in 2017 he received an OBE. Yet rumours persisted about his relationships with women.
In December 2004, Little Britain won the top accolade at the British comedy awards. The show’s host, Jonathan Ross, opened the awards show with a joke referencing its creator. “The comedy awards is 15 years old – 15 years old! And like most 15-year-olds, it’s drunk, it’s unpredictable and it’s probably going home with David Walliams,” he said. (Ross’s lawyers told the Guardian that he did not write this joke himself).
Walliams’ reputation wasn’t entirely unblemished. In November 2022, the Guardian reported on a hot mic incident in which Walliams was recorded making derogatory remarks about contestants on Britain’s Got Talent, referring to them in offensive terms and saying, of one, “she thinks you want to fuck her, but you don’t.” He was dropped from the show, but continued to publish books and appear on television. Then, in December last year, the Telegraph reported that Walliams had been dropped by his publisher, HarperCollins, after allegations that he had “harassed” junior female employees. Walliams denied that he had behaved inappropriately and said he was not informed of any allegations raised against him by HarperCollins.
Maeve and Rachael Healey had been speaking to sources who knew or worked with Walliams since 2022, and started working on a joint investigation with ITV News the following year. In the course of their investigation, they spoke to more than 100 people. One woman said that Walliams pursued her after she attended a fan event when she was 15, and said that by the time she was 17, they were having sex. Another said that Walliams contacted her on Myspace when she was 15, and accused him of later sexually assaulting her. She said that she would sometimes contact Walliams using her school email address.
Another alleges that in 2008, after being invited to a party at Walliams’ home, the wife of a guest pulled her aside and warned: “You’re very young, be careful.” Lawyers for Walliams said he never engaged in grooming young women, and that the allegations of serious criminal conduct are false. More widely, Walliams has denied any wrongdoing, and in a letter to journalists working on this investigation, he said: “I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law, but I am devastated that some of the women I met 10 or 20 years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me.”
“It can take a long time for sources in these type of stories to feel ready to talk on the record,” Maeve tells me. “It can be a long process to build that trust.”
The arguments made by Walliams’ legal team
In May this year, the Guardian and ITV News sent letters to Walliams’ publicist outlining their reporting and requesting a response ahead of publishing. “We heard from his lawyers that Walliams had a reaction to reading those findings, and had attempted to take his own life,” Maeve says. Walliams was hospitalised, and the Guardian and ITV News took advice from an independent psychiatric expert. Walliams’ legal team applied for an injunction to prohibit the Guardian and ITV News from publishing the allegations.
His case hinged on three arguments. First, that publishing these allegations would expose Walliams to a real and immediate risk of serious harm or death (he made a second suicide attempt after absconding from the care of a hospital). Second, that only the court, by issuing an injunction, could protect Walliams’ rights under articles 2 and 3 of the European convention on human rights (the right to life and the right not to be subject to “inhuman or degrading treatment”). And, third, that Walliams’ relationship with his son would be lost or seriously damaged were the allegations published, infringing his right to private and family life.
A celebrity seeking an injunction because they argue that a media story poses a risk to their life is unprecedented, Maeve tells me. “We’d never dealt with this before.”
The arguments for publishing
Both sides agreed to appoint a joint expert witness to assess Walliams’ condition. The expert concluded that Walliams had an “elevated underlying risk of suicide and self-harm,” and that if publication went ahead it would result in a “very substantial increase in the risk of psychiatric deterioration, suicidal ideation and suicidal acts” in Walliams. But the expert’s evidence did not establish that suicide was “an inevitable consequence of publication,” and concluded that psychiatric treatment, support, and continued admission could help reduce this risk.
The Guardian and ITV News’s lawyers argued that granting the injunction would represent a radical, unprincipled expansion of the court’s duties, and that healthcare services were the appropriate bodies to protect Walliams’ rights, not the courts. The judge concluded that while the risk of suicide was genuine and grave, it was not for the court to restrain publication by granting an injunction.
He ruled that the state had assumed responsibility for Walliams’ safety through the psychiatric hospital and mental health services, and that it does not have a duty “to guarantee that suicide will not occur or to eliminate every residual risk”. Walliams was given until 4:30pm on Monday to appeal against the judge’s decision, which he didn’t.
The wider consequences
Had Walliams won, the injunction would have applied not only to the Guardian and ITV News’s investigation, but indirectly to the women who came forward and made these allegations. “The idea that the investigation might not get published and, worse, that our sources might then be silenced, was very troubling,” Maeve tells me.
It could also have set a precedent for others to use human rights legislation to block public interest investigations in future. “Obviously we shouldn’t diminish the facts in this particular case, but you can see how a ruling like this would open up an avenue for people to use this argument to shut down investigations,” Maeve says. “And the judge really probed that, and asked, if I rule in favour of this injunction, where will it end?”
What else we’ve been reading
The always-affable Jarvis Cocker is on delightful form here recounting his time as a Booker judge, revealing how they picked a winner with no scones thrown. Libby
Not the cheeriest of reads but fascinating and important nonetheless (with some great images to boot), Lana Crowe talks to film storyboard artists about what will be lost if they are replaced by AI. Lucinda Everett, newsletters team
Our senior Washington reporter Chris Stein offers this fascinating insight into GOP thinking post-midterms. Libby
This gallery of photographs from the British music scenes of the 70s and 80s is an absolute banger. The Specials and Sade are among her subjects but my favourite shot is of a group of young female 2 Tone fans, striking a “Madness pose” in their braces, Loakes and Fred Perry shirts. Pure joy. Lucinda
I really enjoyed readers’ suggestions for how to get the buzz back on our high streets, including a pound on residential parcel deliveries and the community cafe in Hastings that launched a local rewards scheme. Libby
Sport
Football | Manchester City’s European campaign finally came roaring into life as they thumped Inter 4-1 to record their first Women’s Champions League victory of the season
NFL | Minnesota have acquired Kirk Cousins from Las Vegas for a 2027 third-round pick, clearing the way for rookie Fernando Mendoza to start for the Raiders.
Football | US men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino is interested in a move to Manchester United, multiple sources told the Guardian, with those same sources characterising the interest as mutual.
The front pages
“David Walliams accused of using his celebrity status to prey on young women for sex”, is the Guardian’s front page today. The Telegraph has “Walliams faces police investigation”, the Mail says “Teenage girls he targeted in plain sight”, the Mirror also splashes “Hiding in plain sight”, the Sun writes “Named .. & shamed”, and the Express goes with “Accused of preying on girls aged 15”. Metro has “Walliams is unmasked”, and The i Paper has “Walliams accused of preying on girls as young as 15”.
Elsewhere, the Times leads on “HMRC to snoop on £2m homes”, and the FT writes “Anthropic sets sights on $1.4tn value in giant Wall St debut”.
Today in Focus
The allegations against David Walliams
Multiple women allege David Walliams abused his power and position as a celebrity to prey on them for sexual purposes when they were young women, an investigation by the Guardian and ITV News has found. He denies the allegations.
Cartoon of the day | Ben Jennings
The Upside
A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad
The modern dating scene is famously bleak – and the apps are the wild west. But maybe we’ve been thinking about human connection all wrong. When Emily’s Bumble date with Steven fizzled, she readied herself for the familiar rush of disappointment, but instead found the unexpected: a beautiful platonic bond blossomed. The experience helped Emily rethink the exhausting pursuit of romantic perfection. “While I didn’t find love … I’ve gained a friend for life in Steven and a shift in perspective: dating apps aren’t the devil.”
Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday
Bored at work?
And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
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