Police in London are investigating a sexual assault allegation against Harvey Weinstein, it has been confirmed.
The accusation was made to Merseyside Police and relates to an alleged assault in London in the 1980s.
It follows widespread sexual assault and harassment allegations against the film executive that have already led to his dismissal from the production company he co-founded.
A spokesman told HuffPost UK: “The Metropolitan Police Service was passed an allegation of sexual assault by Merseyside Police on Wednesday, 11 October.
“The allegation will be assessed by officers from the Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Command.
“Being given this statement is not a confirmation of any name or profession media may attribute, or wish to attribute.”
A Merseyside Police spokesman said: “We can confirm we received a report at 8.40am on Wednesday (11 October 2017) of an alleged sexual assault in the London area in the 1980s.
“The report has been referred to the Metropolitan Police.”
It comes as the New York Police Department confirmed to HuffPost that it is investigating an allegation of sexual assault from 2004.
An NYPD spokesperson told HuffPost that a complaint was “never filed” regarding the assault, but that police are now investigating what happened.
Additionally, Assistant Commissioner J. Peter Donald said that based on information published in recent news reports, the NYPD will be “conducting a review to determine if there are any additional complaints” related to Weinstein.
The growing number of allegations has led to calls for Weinstein to be stripped of his honorary CBE, awarded in 2004 for services to the British film industry as he worked on a string of films that won Oscars and BAFTAs.
Theresa May’s spokesman signalled on Wednesday that he could lose the honour if found to have brought the system “into disrepute”.
In No.10′s strongest intervention yet in the controversy, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman stressed just how “unacceptable” she viewed the allegations against Weinstein and praised the “courage” of women who had come forward.
A number of female actresses have come forward to describe Weinstein’s behaviour.
Cara Delevingne said that he asked her to kiss another woman in front of him, after an “odd and uncomfortable” phone call during which he allegedly quizzed her about her sexuality.
The model and actress, who first spoke about her bisexuality in 2015, posted a lengthy post about her encounters with Weinstein on Instagram.
She said: “When I first started to work as an actress, I was working on a film and I received a call from Harvey Weinstein asking if I had slept with any of the women I was seen out with in the media.
“It was a very odd and uncomfortable call.... I answered none of his questions and hurried off the phone but before I hung up, he said to me that If I was gay or decided to be with a woman especially in public that I’d never get the role of a straight woman or make it as an actress in Hollywood.”
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - which hosts the Oscars - has said the sexual abuse allegations against Weinstein are “repugnant” and “abhorrent” and it will be holding a meeting on Saturday to discuss any action to be taken.