Ministers to review calls for higher age of consent after Brand allegations

The government will consider calls to raise or stagger the age of consent after Mia Latter said Russell Brand raped her when she was 16 and he was 30. Deputy prime minister Louise Haigh said changing the law would be a major step, but that Latter’s experience deserved proper consideration and scrutiny.

UK law currently allows adults to have sex with 16 and 17-year-olds. Brand denied Latter’s allegation, which was not included in his trial; he was convicted of offences against four other women and is serving a 10-and-a-half-year prison sentence. Haigh also backed examining a ban on non-disclosure agreements in cases involving alleged harassment or discrimination, while Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Jess Brown-Fuller supported reviewing consent laws.