Minister says 'changing age of consent deserves proper consideration' after Brand allegations

The government will consider changing the age of consent after a woman campaigning for a change in the law waived her right to anonymity to publicly claim she was raped by Russell Brand at 16.

Mia Latter, who is now 37, alleges that the comedian orally raped her towards the end of their three-month relationship, when he was 30 years old.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, she called for the introduction of a staggered age of consent, arguing that "adults shouldn't be allowed to have sexual relationships with children".

The proposed change would make relationships between adults and 16 and 17-year-olds illegal.

Louise Haigh, the first secretary of state, told the newspaper that while changing the age of consent would be a "massive step", it needs to be properly scrutinised.

"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," she said.

"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."

Current laws in the UK make it legal for an adult of any age to have sex with 16 and 17-year-olds.

Brand was accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse over a seven-year period at the height of his fame in previous reporting by the Sunday Times, The Times, and Channel 4 Dispatches documentary. Brand denied all allegations made against him at the time.

In the documentary and subsequent reporting, Ms Latter was referred to under the pseudonym of Alice.

Ms Latter spoke to the police at the time of the documentary but said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided not to include her case in Brand’s trial at Southwark Crown Court, which started in October.

The CPS "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", she added.

She was told her case would not be included in the October trial to avoid it becoming "'the Alice show'", which was her pseudonym in the article. "I was devastated by it," she said.

In an interview with podcast host Megyn Kelly earlier this year, Brand had said he had slept with a 16-year-old when he was 30.

Ms Latter told The Sunday Times: "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 has reportedly decided not to continue with the criminal process so she can focus on her campaign.

More from Sky News:
Man, 21, stabbed to death in London
Pope returns to Peru where he lived for 20 years

Ms Latter said she was 16 when she first met Brand in Leicester Square, central London, while she was on her way home from a shopping trip.

She told the newspaper that Brand asked for her number and later messaged her to ask if she wanted to go for dinner. When she told him her age, Brand - who was working at MTV at the time - still asked to meet up with her, she said.

Brand was sentenced earlier this week to 10 years and six months in jail for one count of rape and three of sexual assault.

(c) Sky News 2026: Minister says 'changing age of consent deserves proper consideration' after Brand allegations