Government faces calls to stagger age of consent after Russell Brand allegations

The Government has said it will consider calls to change the age of consent after a woman waived her right to anonymity to publicly claim she was raped by Russell Brand as a 16-year-old schoolgirl.Mia Latter, now 37, alleged she had been mistreated by the jailed comedian when she was a teenager and he was aged 30.In an interview with The Sunday Times, she called for the introduction of a staggered age of consent – which would make relationships between adults and teenagers aged 16 and 17 illegal.Louise Haigh, the de facto deputy prime minister, told the newspaper that “Mia’s heart-breaking story” meant a law change deserved consideration.First Secretary of State Louise Haigh (Stefan Rousseau/PA)PA WireShe said: “We need to listen to Mia and other victims like her who have been through these experiences, because it’s really important that as lawmakers their experience is at the heart of what we consider.Read More“It clearly would be a massive step to change the age of consent, but it deserves proper consideration and scrutiny. I can absolutely understand why she is calling for it.”Under UK law, adults of any age are legally able to have sex with 16 and 17-year-olds.Ms Latter told the paper: “It’s shocking to me time and time again that whenever the news comes up again about him, it’s always in the comments about the relationship with a 16-year-old.“That’s not the most heinous bit. But why is that the thing that everybody collectively gets stuck on? I think we all sort of agree that … adults shouldn’t be allowed to have sexual relationships with children, with somebody under the age of 18. That really doesn’t seem like a gigantic leap to take.”Ms Latter was referred to under the pseudonym of Alice in previous reporting by the Sunday Times, The Times, and Channel 4 Dispatches documentary.Court artist drawing of Russell Brand in the dock at Southwark Crown Court (Elizabeth Cook/PA)PA WireMs Latter was 16 when she first met Brand in Leicester Square, central London, while she was on her way home from a shopping trip.He took her number, later messaged her, and asked if she wanted to go for dinner.She told the newspaper that Brand – who was working at MTV at the time – still asked her to meet after she had confessed her age to him.Ms Latter alleges Brand orally raped her towards the end of their three-month relationship.Ms Latter spoke to the police after the documentary, but the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided not to include her case Brand’s trial at Southwark Crown Court.She said: “They [the police] wanted me to be part of a subsequent trial, but they said that the decision was made [not to include her in the first trial] after he had done the Megyn Kelly and the Piers Morgan interviews… I was told that I wasn’t actually going to make it to the October trial because… they didn’t want it to become ‘the Alice show’, which was my pseudonym in the article. I was devastated by it.”In an interview with conservative podcaster Megyn Kelly earlier this year, Brand had said that the age of consent in the UK is 16, and he did sleep with a 16-year-old when he was 30.Press photographers surround a prison van as it leaves Southwark Crown Court (PA)PA WireMs Latter has reportedly decided not to continue with the criminal process so she can focus on her campaign.She told the newspaper: “I just don’t know what capacity I have to give years more of my life to this, for my head to be occupied with these awful crimes.”The allegation was reported to the Metropolitan Police, which said the investigation into the alleged rape remains ongoing.A Met Police spokesperson said: “Officers launched an investigation in January 2026 after receiving an allegation of rape.“Detectives sought advice from the Crown Prosecution Service to determine how best to proceed, and officers were advised that further information was needed before a charging decision could be made.“This investigation remains ongoing. We understand the delay has been distressing for this victim-survivor. However, our focus has been on putting forward the best possible evidence.”The Crown Prosecution Service said: “The Crown Prosecution Service will continue to work closely with investigators to provide advice and make sure cases progress as quickly as possible.”Brand was convicted of attacks against four of the six women who gave evidence against him, and he is now serving a 10-and-a-half-year prison term for one count of rape and three sexual assaults.Earlier this week, it was announced that a series of “serious” sex offence allegations against David Walliams are being probed by the Metropolitan Police following an investigation by The Guardian and ITV News on Tuesday.One woman described her alleged encounter with Walliams when she was 15 as “sexual assault”.Walliams denies any wrongdoing.