Some schools have begun removing David Walliams books from their libraries following the publication of allegations against the best-selling children's author and comedian. Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said head teachers are already making difficult decisions about whether the books should stay on library shelves, and that several members had already taken them off the shelves. Walliams has denied allegations of sexual misconduct and abuses of power.

Walliams was named as part of an investigation by The Guardian and ITV News after he tried to obtain an injunction to prevent reporting of allegations against him. One woman described her alleged encounter with Walliams, when she was 15, as a sexual assault, while multiple women accused him of grooming them when they were teenagers. Walliams denies any wrongdoing. His publisher HarperCollins dropped him in December 2025 after an investigation into allegations that he had harassed young women, which he denied. Walliams has sold more than 60 million copies of his children's books globally, including Gangsta Granny and Billionaire Boy.S2S1

Steve Chalke, founder of the Oasis Charitable Trust, said the trust, which runs 59 schools, has issued guidance to headteachers to temporarily remove the books to protect children, who may be traumatised by seeing Walliams' name or face. Academy trust GLF Schools, which runs 43 schools in South and South East England, has also decided to remove the books from its school libraries. Darren Morgan, head of Kings Road Primary School in Manchester, said it was really difficult to keep the books on shelves given the allegations.S2S1

The Association of School and College Leaders is urging the government to issue national guidance so that schools are not left with one or two head teachers making one decision and others making a different one. The union plans to raise the issue with the Department for Education in a meeting on Friday. Writer Chloe Combi argued that banning the books could cause important conversations about Walliams to get swept under the carpet, and that talking with children about what happened made more sense.S1S2

Retailers including Waterstones, TG Jones and The Works say they will no longer sell Walliams' books. Decisions about stocking books in public libraries are made by local councils, and Kent County Council said it had no plans to remove his titles. The librarians' body CILIP said dealing with challenges to books can be an extremely complex and stressful situation for library staff.S1S2