The bestselling UK author David Walliams has withdrawn his lot at the Presidents Club charity auction – offering the chance to name a character in his next children’s book – after the sexual harassment scandal, as several bookshops announced their decision to pull his bestsellers from their shelves in response.

Attended by billionaires, politicians and businessmen, the Presidents Club fundraising dinner in London was widely condemned this week after the Financial Times published allegations about wide-scale groping and sexual harassment of hostesses employed at the men-only event.

Walliams, who is the UK’s top-selling author of 2017 and whose last book, Bad Dad, sold more than 60,000 copies in a week to become the Christmas No 1, hosted the evening for the third year in a row. He also offered a lot at the auction: the chance to name a character in his forthcoming book, The World’s Worst Children 3.

The brochure states that Walliams, “frequently being heralded as a modern day Roald Dahl”, had donated the prize himself and offered the additional perk of having Walliams personally present the book to the winning bidder’s family over afternoon tea.

After the FT story was published, guests rushed to distance themselves from the Presidents Club charity. Beneficiaries, including Great Ormond Street children’s hospital, vowed to hand back donations.

As a children’s author, Walliams has been heavily criticised for his involvement in the event. The bookshops Chicken and Frog in Brentwood, Rogan’s Books in Bedford and Pages of Hackney in London announced they were removing his books from sale.



“Authors are hugely inspirational. Walliams’ actions and subsequent inaction are not acceptable,” said the owner of Chicken and Frog, Natasha Radford. “We are proud of our decision and have received nothing but positive responses. Even if he was unaware, when the highly inappropriate suggested names were mentioned for his auction lot, or the plastic surgery to ‘add spice to your wife’, he should have walked away. He did not.”

Rachael Rogan of Rogan’s Books said: “I could not possibly have his titles on the shelf until my faith has been restored that he does not condone this type of behaviour, or this outdated type of event.”

I tell you what I'll name the next character in your CHILDRENS book David Walliams, "Micky the Misogyinist", "Barry Banter" "Larry Ladz". pic.twitter.com/CbMs36ceWY — Jess Phillips (@jessphillips) January 23, 2018

Kind of not really all that keen on my kids reading Walliams’ books any more really. https://t.co/oiBAPgquxx pic.twitter.com/joWjdgjCTk — Andy Dawson (@profanityswan) January 23, 2018

Walliams apologised on Wednesday, denying any knowledge of sexual harassment at the event over the last three years. His representatives later also confirmed that his auction lot had been withdrawn.

“Last Thursday night I hosted the Presidents Club annual charity fundraiser,” he tweeted. “I agreed to host as it is one of the biggest charity fund raising events of the year. I was there in a strictly professional capacity and not as a guest.”

Walliams added: “I left immediately after I had finished my presenting on stage at 11.30pm. I did not witness any of the kind of behaviour that allegedly occurred and am absolutely appalled by the reports.”

According to the FT investigation, members of the all-male guest list subjected some of the 130 women employed as hostesses for the evening to sustained sexual harassment. An undercover FT reporter, Madison Marriage, said she had been groped repeatedly and other women had been invited by diners to join them in hotel bedrooms. One of the women, who were required to be “tall, thin and pretty”, said an attendee had exposed his penis to her.