Mia Latter Waives Anonymity as UK Government Agrees to Consider Changing the Age of Consent

The UK 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 was orally raped by the jailed comedian when she was a teenager and he was 30 years old.

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 Latter's "heart-breaking story" meant a law change deserved consideration. She 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."

Haigh added: "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 current UK law, adults of any age are legally able to have sex with 16 and 17-year-olds. Latter said it shocks her time and again that whenever the news about Brand resurfaces, the comments always get stuck on the relationship with a 16-year-old. In her view, adults should not be allowed to have sexual relationships with anyone under the age of 18, and accepting that does not seem like a gigantic leap to take.

Latter was previously referred to under the pseudonym of Alice in reporting by the Sunday Times, the Times, and Channel 4's Dispatches documentary.

She was 16 when she first met Brand in Leicester Square, central London, while on her way home from a shopping trip. He took her number and later messaged her asking if she wanted to go for dinner. Latter said Brand, who was working at MTV at the time, still asked her to meet after she had told him her age.

Latter alleges Brand orally raped her towards the end of their three-month relationship. Brand denied all of the allegations made against him by Latter when they were first reported in 2023 by the Times.

She spoke to the police after the documentary, but the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided not to include her case in Brand's trial at Southwark Crown Court. He was convicted of attacks against four of the six women who gave evidence against him, and is now serving a 10-and-a-half-year prison term for one count of rape and three sexual assaults.

Latter's allegation was reported to the Metropolitan Police, who 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 CPS, and were advised that further information was needed before a charging decision could be made. The spokesperson said the delay has been distressing for the victim-survivor, but the focus has been on putting forward the best possible evidence. The CPS said it will continue to work closely with investigators to provide advice and make sure cases progress as quickly as possible.

Earlier this week, it was announced that a series of "serious" sex offence allegations against comedian David Walliams are being probed by the Metropolitan Police after an investigation by the Guardian and ITV News; one woman described her alleged encounter with Walliams when she was 15 as "sexual assault". In light of news that one of Walliams's accusers was asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), Haigh said the government should also look at banning NDAs in cases of alleged sexual assault and harassment. She said there is a very strong case to look at banning NDAs in all circumstances relating to harassment or discrimination, to make sure no victim is ever silenced.

MPs outside Labour may also support a bill to change the age of consent laws. Jess Brown-Fuller, the Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson, has come out in favour of reviewing them. Commending Latter for the "extraordinary bravery" it took to waive her anonymity, she said protections for young women and girls must go further and that looking at a staggered age of consent is an important step. She noted that rules already recognise power imbalances in professions, between teachers and students or barristers and junior colleagues, and said it is time for the government to recognise the implicit power imbalance held by older men over teenage girls.

Latter's decision to come forward was also praised by Bridget Phillipson, the minister for women and equalities, who said she and thousands of others across the country will be in awe of her courage and determination. She added that it is up to everyone to send a message to women and girls who experience sexual violence: the shame is not yours. Women like Mia are leading the charge, she said, but more can and must be done to make this a moment of change.