Weinstein fallout will change our culture, says Balls

ED BALLS has said he hopes the sexual harassment scandal stemming from allegations made against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein will give his daughters “more opportunity and more fairness”.

The former Morley and Outwood MP, Shadow Chancellor and Strictly Come Dancing star, who has two daughters and a son with Pontefract, Normanton and Castleford MP Yvette Cooper, said the fall-out would prevent complaints being ignored in future.

He said: “I think the thing which will change things most for the future this year was what happened with Harvey Weinstein and I think that will effectively change our culture hugely.”

Referring to the sacking of former Cabinet minister Damian Green following allegations of inappropriate conduct, Mr Balls said: “If you think of today, we had this suggestion that Number 10 were told about these allegations a year ago and didn’t do anything about it.

“I don’t know if that’s true that they were told, but you can imagine a year ago somebody in Number 10 being told ‘there is an allegation about Damian Green’ and they do nothing about it.”

Conservative activist Kate Maltby has said she alerted Downing Street last year to Mr Green’s “pattern of behaviour”.

However, speaking to reporters during a visit to British troops in Cyprus, Prime Minister Theresa May said she had not been informed of the claims.

Mr Balls added: “Nobody in 2018 will ever do nothing about it, because we know now, they have got to act. It’s terrible thing that Harvey Weinstein has done but I think it’s probably changed things.”