David Walliams named as celebrity who lost injunction against sexual misconduct allegations

The comedian David Walliams has been announced as the celebrity who lost his bid for an injunction to halt the publication of sexual misconduct allegations against him.

The High Court ruled last week that Walliams could be named, but his name was withheld to allow an appeal against the decision. But the comedian has now been named after missing Monday’s deadline to take the case to the Court of Appeal.

Walliams had brought legal action against Guardian News and Media (GNM), the publisher of The Guardian, and Independent Television News (ITN), which produces news programmes for a number of channels, after a joint investigation by the two outlets.

The investigation has now been published and alleges that he used his celebrity to prey on girls as young as 15. Walliams has denied the claims, and his lawyers previously argued that the injunction was necessary because of a perceived risk that he would take his own life, after two previous suicide attempts.

In a statement to The Guardian and ITV News today (10 November), the comedian said: “Looking back, I realise that at times I behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with… I realise I did not always take people’s feelings properly into account. That is something I regret. And whilst a power imbalance is inevitable when one party is famous, abusing that power is something else entirely and it is something that I never did…”

He added: “I am not a sexual predator… I have not broken the law… I am devastated that some of the women I met ten to twenty years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me.”

Ruling against the injunction last week, Mr Justice Nicklin said: “The claimant’s claim for an injunction was dismissed. The court did not determine whether the allegations, or any of them, were true, and the dismissal of the claim does not amount to approval of any publication the defendants may decide to make.”