HOLLYWOOD producer Harvey Weinstein is being formally investigated by police in the UK and America over allegations of sexual assault, some dating back to the 1980s.

Allegations against the movie mogul have continued to mount since the publication of a New York Times story last week. Actress Rose McGowan – one of the first women to accuse him of sexual harassment – has made an allegation of rape.

Kate Beckinsale has become the latest British celebrity to speak out, by revealing an alleged encounter when she was a 17. She claimed Weinstein appeared at a meeting in a bathrobe and offered her alcohol.

In an Instagram post, she wrote: “I was incredibly naive and young and it did not cross my mind that this older, unattractive man would expect me to have any sexual interest in him. After declining alcohol and announcing that I had school in the morning I left, uneasy but unscathed.”

Scotland Yard said detectives from a child abuse and sex offences unit would be looking into an alleged sexual assault in London in the 1980s.

Director Quentin Tarantino, whose films Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown were produced by Weinstein, said he was “stunned and heartbroken about the revelations that have come to light about my friend for 25 years”, adding: “I need a few more days to process my pain, emotions, anger and memory and then I will speak publicly about it.”

Hillary Clinton has also spoken out about the scandal, telling the BBC’s Andrew Marr she was “really shocked and appalled”.

“He’s been a supporter – he’s been a funder for all of us, for Obama, for me, for people who have run for office in the United States,” she said. “So it was just disgusting and the stories that have come out are heartbreaking. And I really commend the women who have been willing to step forward now and tell their stories. But I think that it’s important that we not just focus on him and whatever consequences flow from these stories about his behaviour, but that we recognise this kind of behaviour cannot be tolerated anywhere, whether it’s in entertainment, politics.”

Referring to Donald Trump talking about grabbing women in a recording released during the presidential election campaign, she said: “The really sad part of the campaign was how this horrific tape – what he said about women in the past, what he said about women during the campaign – was discounted by a lot of voters.”

Weinstein entered rehab in Arizona on Thursday.

After being sacked from The Weinstein Company last weekend, he issued a statement saying: “I appreciate the way I’ve behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologise for it.” However, his lawyer added that he denied many of the allegations made against him.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted yesterday: “Man faces allegations of abuse and yet instinct of many is to turn ire on women for supposedly not speaking out. It’s depressing #weinstein”

Meanwhile, the head of Amazon Studio, Roy Price, has been accused of sexual misconduct. In a statement, Amazon said: “Roy Price is on leave of absence effective immediately. We are reviewing our options for the projects we have with The Weinstein Co.”