Russell Brand allegations: Accuser claims BBC car took her from school to star’s house when she was 16
One of Russell Brand’s accusers has claimed a BBC car took her from school to the star’s house when she was 16 years old.
“Alice” told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour the alleged abusive relationship left her feeling “cheap and dirtied”.
She went on to say Brand’s denial of the accusations was “insulting”, adding: “It’s laughable that he would even imply that this is some kind of mainstream media conspiracy. He’s not outside the mainstream.”
It comes as Downing Street described the allegations against Brand as “very serious and concerning”.
“Alice” said Brand groomed her, referred to her as “The Child” and assaulted her during their three-month relationship.
She told Woman’s Hour that a BBC chauffer-driven car picked her up from school to take her back to Brand’s house.
“He had a friend who was taking him to do his radio show so he said to me, ‘You get in the car and you go wherever you need to go from there’, so I took the BBC car that time,” she said.
“And on another occasion it picked me up from school… back to his house.”
Alice said she told Brand she was 16 before their first date, adding: “He just replied saying, ‘OK, so we’re still on for dinner at 7.30?’
“He was 30. Now that I’m in my 30s looking at 16-year-olds, I can’t imagine finding them sexually attractive. I can’t imagine thinking of them as a potential mate in any way.”
She said she would like to know why more was not done by the corporation at the time of their relationship in 2006, adding: “He had a very well-known record of doing things that were inappropriate on the air, having inappropriate conversations. I don’t think he was being held to the same standards as other presenters or newsreaders.
“There were exceptions and allowances made for him and we need to ask ourselves why.”
The BBC has confirmed it is “urgently looking into the issues raised”.
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Fans react to Russell Brand allegations
‘I felt dirtied by the whole thing’
She said her mother tried to do everything she could to end the relationship but added: “Russell groomed me and told me to save his number in my phone as a different name. He coached me on what to say to my parents.”
The woman claimed she met Brand when he was 30 and he worked as a presenter on Radio 2.
Describing her alleged abusive relationship with Brand, she said: “It’s certainly had an impact on my relationships going forward… it was my first sexual experience, I felt used up, I felt cheap, I felt dirtied by the whole thing and so then I went on to have another series of relationships with people that were, for want of a better word, sleazy.
“Because I just thought if I go for bottom of the barrel I can never be disappointed and I can never be hurt because I know to expect the absolute worst.”
She said she was struggling with mental health issues and recovering from an eating disorder at the time, all of which contributed to her failing to finish her A-levels.
The Sunday Times says in 2020 Alice contacted Brand’s literary agent at the time, who was also the co-founder of talent agency Tavistock Wood.
A spokesperson for the agency said Brand “categorically and vehemently denied the allegations” at the time but they now believe they were “horribly misled” and have terminated all professional ties with the comedian.
Read more:
What are the allegations against Russell Brand?
More women come forward after accusations
Four women have made allegations of sexual assaults between 2006 and 2013 as part of an investigation by The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4 Dispatches.
The BBC said in a statement: “The documentary and associated reports contained serious allegations, spanning a number of years.
“Russell Brand worked on BBC radio programmes between 2006 and 2008 and we are urgently looking into the issues raised.”
Since publication, The Times said it had been contacted by “several women” with claims about Brand, but said their allegations have not yet been investigated and “will now be rigorously checked”.
Brand, 48, vehemently denies the allegations. and claimed in a video posted online on Friday night that all of his relationships have been “consensual”.
Meanwhile, Brand’s former manager, John Noel, said he was “very surprised” by the allegations and he never had any complaints about Brand “other than turning up late”.
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Brand’s ex-manager ‘never had any complaints’
Downing Street describes allegations as ‘very serious and concerning’
Downing Street urged the BBC and Channel 4 to set out the results of their investigations into Brand “transparently”.
The prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “It’s right that this is looked into and I think both of the broadcasters have said they would investigate and that is the right step.
“I’m not going to prejudge that, it will be for them to set out what they find and do so transparently.”
He added: “These are very serious and concerning allegations.
“The Met Police has asked anyone who believes they have been a victim of a sexual assault to come forward to speak to officers.”
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer is expected to speak to broadcasters about their investigations into Brand at the next opportunity and it was understood she will seek assurance their investigations will be conducted thoroughly and transparently.
Downing Street declined to urge broadcasters and streaming platforms such as YouTube and Netflix to take down Brand’s output.
The prime minister’s spokesperson said: “It’s a decision for all broadcasters to consider the right approach in light of these very serious allegations. They are deeply concerning, they need to be investigated.
“But I’m not going to dictate the actions of broadcasters or streaming services.”
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Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, Caroline Nokes, said we must not ‘white-wash’ the allegations made against Russell Brand, even though it may have happened a long time ago.
Police encourage any victim to come forward
The Metropolitan Police has responded to the accusations – saying it encourages victims of sexual assault to contact the force.
A spokesperson said: “We are aware of media reporting of a series of allegations of sexual assault. At this time, we have not received any reports in relation to this.
“If anyone believes they have been the victim of a sexual assault, no matter how long ago it happened, we would encourage them to contact police.
“We spoke with The Sunday Times on Saturday 16 September. We will be making further approaches to The Sunday Times and Channel 4 to ensure that any victims of crime who they have spoken with are aware of how they may report any criminal allegations to police.”
In other developments:
• Channel 4 and production company Banijay UK have both launched investigations
• Elon Musk and Andrew Tate were among those appearing to offer Brand support
• Charity Trevi Women cut ties with the comedian
• Foreign Secretary James Cleverly called for quicker responses to such claims
• A parliamentary committee said it would “closely monitor” the issue
• Amnesty International said the claims were “shocking” but it received no complaints
Rishi Sunak has admitted the Tories may not win the general election after grim defeats in the local polls.
The prime minister suggested the UK was on course for a hung parliament and claimed voters would not want to see Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer “propped up in Downing Street” by the SNP or smaller parties.
In an interview with The Times, Mr Sunak pointed to Sky News analysis of the local election results by election expert Professor Michael Thrasher which suggested Labour would be the largest party in a hung parliament.
Politics live: PM told to ‘wake up and smell the coffee’ after elections
“These results suggest we are heading for a hung parliament with Labour as the largest party,” Mr Sunak told the paper.
“Keir Starmer propped up in Downing Street by the SNP, Liberal Democrats and the Greens would be a disaster for Britain.
“The country doesn’t need more political horse-trading, but action. We are the only party that has a plan to deliver on the priorities of the people.”
Meanwhile, Tory rebels have warned the prime minister to change his political course after the weekend’s local election results.
Read more:
The local election winners and losers
Charts tell story of Conservative collapse
Analysis: Labour’s future success is less clear-cut
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PM on ‘disappointing’ election results
Sunak urged to take party towards right
Former home secretary Suella Braverman urged him to mould the party towards the right in order to win back voters.
But she told the BBC a change of leadership was not a “feasible prospect,” adding: “There is no superman or superwoman out there who can do it.”
Ms Braverman urged the prime minister to adopt several measures to win back voters, including further tax cuts and a cap on legal migration.
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Rishi Sunak ‘up for the fight’ in general election
Tories ‘up for the fight,’ minister insists
But Transport Secretary Mark Harper insisted Mr Sunak and the Tories are “up for the fight” of a general election despite their terrible results in the local contests.
Talking to Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, the minister said: “I think the key thing that people need to do now is get behind the prime minister, focus on the things the government is focused on delivering – the British people’s priorities around the economy, dealing with migration – and get out there and take that fight to the country ahead of the general election.”
Labour won 1,158 seats in the 107 councils in England that held elections on 2 May, an increase of more than 232.
The Liberal Democrats won 552 seats, up nearly 100, while the Tories came in third place on 515 seats, down nearly 400.
UK
Rishi Sunak rides out leadership challenge – but faces ‘exhausted and broken’ Tory party when parliament returns
The government at one point considered using Iraq to process asylum seekers – like the Rwanda scheme – according to documents seen by Sky News.
This could have seen people sent from the UK to a country the government advises against all travel to.
The two countries already have a returns agreement – but only for people that are from Iraq.
Politics live: Follow the latest updates here
According to leaked correspondence between high-ranking officials, the Iraqi returns commitments were made with a “request for discretion” and no publicity.
The country was willing to move forward but did not want a formal or public agreement.
The current travel advice to Iraq on the Foreign Office website simply advises against “all travel to parts of Iraq”. However, according to the document, negotiations were fairly advanced and described in one table as “good recent progress with Iraq”.
Other government aims included enhancing cooperation with the Iranian Embassy in order to enhance returns arrangements for migrants and potential asylum seekers.
Returns agreements are also in the works for Eritrea and Ethiopia, according to documents about work undertaken by the Home Office and Foreign Office that relates to countries with the highest number of nationals arriving to the UK by small boats.
In a tranche of internal government documents seen by Sky News, even from the earliest stage of the Rwanda policy, Downing Street advisers knew there were serious problems with their proposals.
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First Rwanda relocation raids carried out
There are even private admissions that many people arriving here on small boats did so without the assistance of criminal gangs – despite their communications strategy.
Comparisons were also made to Australia’s response – to what Downing Street officials understood to be a comparable “smaller problem” than in the UK and admitted it had cost billions of Australian dollars in order for their returns processes to be fully operational.
Read more:
Man, 38, arrested in connection with small boat crossings
Sunak says migrants going to Ireland shows Rwanda scheme is working
In one document submitted to the Home Office, some of the highest-ranking officials at the time wrote that their guidance was to be “prepared to pay over the odds” to get the policy up and running. And that the initial offer from Rwanda was a “modest sum”.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Whitehall’s official spending watchdog has priced the cost of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda at £1.8m per person for the first 300 people the government deports to Kigali.
It also disclosed that since April 2022 the Home Office has paid £220m into Rwanda’s economic transformation and integration fund, which is designed to support economic growth in Rwanda, and will continue to make payments to cover asylum processing and operational costs for individuals relocated to Rwanda.
It will also pay further amounts of £50m over the next year and an additional £50m the following year.
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A government source said: “The Home Office is spending millions every day accommodating migrants in hotels – that’s not right or fair. We’re taking action to put an end to this costly and dangerous cycle. Doing nothing is not a free option – we must act if we want to stop the boats and save lives.
“The UK is continuing to work with a range of international partners to tackle global illegal migration challenges. Our Rwanda partnership is a pioneering response to the global challenge of illegal migration, and we will get flights off the ground to Rwanda in the next nine to eleven weeks.”
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