Follow-up: Mia Latter Waives Anonymity Over Brand Allegation at 16 and Pushes a Staggered UK Age of Consent; Minister Says It Will Be Discussed

On November 14, Mia Latter, a 37-year-old British woman, waived the lifelong anonymity granted to complainants in sexual offence cases and revealed her identity in an interview with The Sunday Times. She alleges that comedian Russell Brand subjected her to sexual and emotional abuse during a relationship of about three months in 2006, and raped her towards the end of it; she was 16 when they met and Brand was 30. She said she was going public to push for a staggered age of consent in the United Kingdom to protect 16- and 17-year-olds. Brand previously denied the allegations raised in the 2023 joint investigation, and PEOPLE magazine received no immediate response from Brand's attorney when it sought comment on November 14.

Latter is the woman identified only as "Alice" in the 2023 joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4's Dispatches, and she is the first of that investigation's accusers to reveal her real name. According to The Times, she said she was inspired by Gisèle Pelicot, the French woman who chose to be named during the trial of her husband and other men accused of raping her and who said that shame must change sides. "It's not my shame. It's not my burden to carry any more," Latter said.

According to Latter's account to The Sunday Times, she met Brand in Leicester Square in central London in 2006 while returning from a shopping trip; Brand, who was then working at MTV, took her phone number. After she told Brand she was only 16, he still asked her to dinner the following day, she said. She alleges Brand told her to keep the relationship secret from her school friends, while referring to her as "the child" in front of people in his own circle. She also said the experience derailed her education and her mental health: she did not complete her A-levels, dropped out of school and was diagnosed with depression.

After the documentary aired, Latter reported her allegation to the Metropolitan Police and cooperated with investigators. She said the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to include her allegation in Brand's trial in October this year, while police had wanted her to take part in a subsequent trial; she said she was "devastated" to learn she would not be part of the October trial. A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said on November 14 that officers launched an investigation in January 2026 after receiving an allegation of rape, that detectives sought advice from the Crown Prosecution Service on how best to proceed and were advised that further information was needed before a charging decision could be made, and that the investigation remains ongoing. Latter, for her part, said she has decided not to continue with the criminal process so she can focus on her campaign, saying she does not know what capacity she has to give years more of her life to it.

Brand previously denied the allegations raised in the 2023 joint investigation. According to the Press Association, Brand said in an interview with podcaster Megyn Kelly earlier this year that the age of consent in the UK is 16 and that he did sleep with a 16-year-old when he was 30, describing himself as an "immature 30-year-old" and saying that consensual sex where there is a power imbalance, such as fame, "involves exploitation".

The reform Latter is backing is proposed by the campaign group Close the Consent Gap. Its founder, Layla Stone, said the proposal is about addressing the power imbalance between adults and teenagers. Under the proposal reported by the BBC, a 16-year-old would not be able to have a sexual relationship with anyone older than 19, and a 17-year-old would not be able to have one with anyone older than 20, while relationships between teenagers themselves would be unaffected. Under current UK law, which has set the age of consent at 16 since 1885, adults of any age can legally have sex with 16- and 17-year-olds. "I don't want to criminalise teenagers having sex with each other," Latter said. "But if you're in your thirties, forties and fifties and you're trying to have a relationship with someone under the age of 18, it should be a criminal offence."

The UK government responded on November 15. Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that the question of a staggered age of consent "has been raised and will be discussed", that he could not give a conclusion today, but that the last week had "put that up in lights". He also said the country had been appalled by stories of powerful men abusing their power over the last week, and that a big age gap can be part of that abuse. According to The Times, Louise Haigh, the de facto deputy prime minister, also said Latter's heart-breaking story meant a change in the law deserved proper consideration and scrutiny.

Latter's allegations are not among the offences of which Brand has been convicted. As GSM previously reported, Brand was convicted on November 5 of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault involving four women, and was sentenced on November 9 to 10 years and six months in prison. Latter said she was happy that police had managed to get justice for some of the women involved in the case, and that she was grateful to the women who testified.

Related: Follow-up: Russell Brand Sentenced to 10 Years and Six Months in Prison

Source: The Sunday Times

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 资料图：本案审理地英国伦敦Southwark刑事法庭（Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 2.0），非本次采访画面。/ File photo: Southwark Crown Court in London, where Brand's trial was held (via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); not a photo of this interview.

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