David Walliams whistleblower Lucy Beaumont backs changes to consent laws branding them 'insane'

Comedian Lucy Beaumont has thrown her weight behind a campaign to 'stop grown adults having legal sexual access to children'.

It comes after she revealed she was one of the whistleblowers in an investigation into David Walliams by The Guardian and ITV News, which has accused the comedian of sexual misconduct and grooming.

Walliams denies the allegations and said he is 'not a sexual predator'

Beaumont said she has never worked with Walliams or seen any inappropriate behavior from him, but three years ago, a young person had taken her aside to share concerns about Walliams' conduct.

She said he told her he had to 'take young girls' who were 'definitely' over 16 to his dressing room.

"He felt they were vulnerable," she added.

LADbible Group has contacted David Walliams' representatives for a comment.

Now she has thrown her weight behind a campaign to change UK consent laws, which she has called ‘insanity’.

Beaumont described a hypothetical scenario involving a man in his 60s and a young girl. "If you have a 12-year-old daughter, in four years a man in his 60s can legally have sex with her," she wrote.

She added that the law still regards such a girl as a child, saying: "He can't legally buy her a drink, and he can't have a nude image of her. But he can sleep with her."

Comedian and TV presenter Alan Carr responded with a series of clapping emojis, while TV personality Vicky Pattison wrote: "Lucy, from the bottom of my heart... thank you. You're a hero."

Her Instagram post urged people to follow @closetheconsentgap and join the Close The Consent Gap campaign, which aims to change the law that 'legally allows adults to have sex with children'.

Under UK law, adults of any age can legally have sex with 16- and 17-year-olds.

The campaign group wants to change the law to criminalise anyone 20 or over sleeping with under-18s if they have an age gap of more than three years.

This would make it illegal for anyone 20 or over to have sex with a 16-year-old, and anyone 21 or over to have sex with a 17-year-old.

The campaign group writes on its website: "A 16 or 17-year-old is still legally a child. They can no longer marry, even with parental consent, because of the risk of exploitation.

"Teachers, carers, sports coaches and faith leaders commit a crime if they have sex with a 16 or 17-year-old in their care, because Parliament accepts that power can undermine consent. Yet an adult with just as much power through money, status, fame or life experience faces no restriction at all.

"We are not trying to criminalise teenage relationships. We are trying to stop grown adults having legal sexual access to children."

In a letter understood to have been sent several months ago to journalists working on the ITV News and Guardian investigations, Walliams wrote regarding the allegations against him: "I realise I did not always take people's feelings properly into account. That is something I regret."

He added: "I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law, but I am devastated that some of the women I met 10 to 20 years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me."