CBE for campaigner who broke Harvey Weinstein NDA

A former assistant to the disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein has been awarded a CBE in the King's New Year Honours list for her campaigning against abusive Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs).

Zelda Perkins, from Salisbury, Wiltshire, felt forced to sign an NDA with Weinstein that prevented her from talking about his abuse, but she later broke the agreement to speak out against him in 2017.

Her group, Can't Buy My Silence, campaigns against NDAs being used in legal contracts or settlements to stop people from speaking out against their employers.

In July, and following Ms Perkins' campaigning, the UK government announced this would eventually be enshrined in law.

Speaking of her CBE arriving in the post, she joked: "Because it looked very official, I thought it was probably something I'd done wrong,"

"I was quite surprised, I have to say.

She added: "Most importantly, this is for all the people who still can't speak."

Ms Perkins founded Can't Buy My Silence in 2021, with the aim of stopping NDAs being used as weapons to protect employers from employees who might speak out about abuse and discrimination.

She believes her new honour will help her quest.

"I see the CBE completely as a tool for me to be able to be able to hold the government to account," she said.

"I see it as an optimistic honour, because I don't think I would have been given it, if the government wasn't going to stick to its guns."

After Mr Perkins and others spoke out against Weinstein, he was later jailed in 2020 for rape and sexual assault.

Reflecting on how things had changed since breaking her NDA in 2017, Ms Perkins said: "I'm over the moon.

"This is a very optimistic story in a time of turbulence - that actually - as much as we complain about our lot in Britain, we do live in a culture and with a government that has allowed a single person to make real change."

She added: "It's not easy, but it can happen, and I think that's a hugely optimistic thing to understand."

Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.