WEINSTEIN: US, BRITISH POLICE BEGIN PROBE

LONDON: The US and British police have launched investigations into sexual assault allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein.

The New York Police Department is looking into an allegation dating from 2004 and is reviewing whether there are any additional complaints, BBC reported on Thursday.

London’s Met Police received an allegation of sexual assault in the London area in the 1980s. Weinstein has “unequivocally denied” any allegations of non-consensual sex. The New York Police Department said it was “looking to speak” to an individual who had made an allegation dating from 2004.

Assistant Commissioner J. Peter Donald said: “Based on information referenced in published news reports, the NYPD is conducting a review to determine if there are any additional complaints relating to the Harvey Weinstein matter.

“No filed complaints have been identified as of this time.”

The force also appealed for anyone with information to come forward. The Metropolitan Police, meanwhile, said it had been passed the allegation of sexual assault by Merseyside Police. A Merseyside Police statement said it “can confirm a report was received on Wednesday of an alleged sexual assault in the London area in the 1980s”.

The investigations come as more women publicly accuse Weinstein of inappropriate behaviour, sexual harassment or assault. British actress Kate Beckinsale is one of the latest, saying she had an encounter with him aged 17, at the Savoy Hotel in London.

British actress and model Cara Delevingne also said he tried to kiss her as she tried to leave a hotel room.

Emma Thompson told BBC Two’s Newsnight programme she found him to be a “bully” when his company Miramax owned the rights to her film Nanny Mcphee.

Actress Rose Mcgowan is the latest woman to publicly accuse Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of rape.

Writing on Twitter, Mcgowan, known for her role on long-running supernatural TV series Charmed, claimed she told a senior member of Amazon Studios about the incident.

“@jeffbezos I told the head of your studio that HW raped me. Over & over I said it. He said it hadn’t been proven. I said I was the proof,” she wrote in a tweet. “I love @amazon but there is rot in Hollywood. @jeffbezos Be the change you want to see in the world. Stand with truth.”