Informal complaints about Russell Brand at Channel 4 ‘not properly escalated’, investigation finds
Concerns raised informally about Russell Brand’s behaviour while he worked on several Channel 4 programmes were “not properly escalated or adequately addressed”, an investigation has found.
Brand, 49, was accused of rape, sexual assaults and emotional abuse as part of a joint investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches programme, The Times and Sunday Times last year.
He has strongly denied all accusations about behaviour which allegedly took place between 2006 and 2013.
After the allegations were reported, TV production company Banijay UK began an investigation.
Banijay UK bought Endemol, the company commissioned by Channel 4 to produce Big Brother spin-off shows EFourum, Big Brother’s Big Mouth, Kings Of Comedy and Big Brother’s Celebrity Hijack, which Brand worked on between 2004 and 2006 and in 2008.
‘I feel like a pimp for Russell’
In an article in The Times, a researcher said concerns about the way in which audiences were being recruited for Big Brother’s EFourum were reported to a production manager at Endemol.
They commented: “I said to the production manager, ‘I kind of feel like a pimp for Russell. I feel like I’m getting these girls in for him to sleep with. And it feels a bit grim.’ I can’t remember their reaction.”
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Findings have now been released by law firm Lewis Silkin LLP.
Its head of investigations, Karen Baxter, said: “No formal complaints were made about Brand during the programmes.
“There were, however, concerns regarding Brand’s behaviour which were raised informally with senior members of staff, particularly in relation to him asking runners to obtain phone numbers of audience members and female crew members feeling uncomfortable or intimidated by his behaviour while working in Bristol in 2004/2005.
“These concerns were not properly escalated or adequately addressed.”
Safeguards missing
In addition, Brand was employed at a time when Channel 4 and Endemol knew he was a “recovering drug addict with a reputation for being ‘edgy'” but “no particular safeguards were put in place to protect Brand, those who worked with him or those who otherwise came into contact with him”, including the audience, the investigation found.
His behaviour is alleged to have included having sexual relationships with audience members and some colleagues on the shows, and sometimes being naked in front of Endemol staff, with evidence suggesting it was “tolerated as ‘Russell being Russell”, the report said.
But the investigation found no evidence of any complaint being raised about these issues and the relationships were understood to be consensual.
Star power
Nevertheless, the law firm also found evidence indicating that Endemol staff felt “largely unable to raise concerns about Brand due to: his role as talent, a view that Brand’s behaviour was tolerated by senior people, a fear of not being listened to, and/or concern for their job security”.
Russell Brand in 2006. Pic: PA
Patrick Holland, the chief executive of Banijay UK, apologised to “anyone who was impacted” and felt “unable to speak up or that their voice was not properly heard”.
In a statement, Mr Holland said: “Dispatches made deeply troubling allegations regarding Russell Brand’s behaviour during his time working for legacy company Endemol.
“I am grateful to Lewis Silkin for this thorough report and the learnings we can take from it.
“While Endemol did have support and escalation procedures in place during the period in question, they were clearly not understood and adhered to the degree we would expect today and were not as robust as our current UK and group-wide processes.
‘Extremely sorry’
“Industry protocols, duty of care and expectations of behaviour have vastly improved in recent years and continue to be reviewed and progressively updated on a regular basis.
“We are extremely sorry to anyone who was impacted by this behaviour and felt unable to speak up or that their voice was not properly heard.”
Channel 4 said in March it had found “no evidence” that managers knew about the accusations made by four women in a Dispatches documentary prior to it being broadcast in September.
In January, Brand told US broadcaster Tucker Carlson that the “appalling” allegations against him were “very, very hurtful”, and again denied all wrongdoing.
Sky News has contacted Brand for comment.
Amnesty International says it is “deeply concerning” that police made 474 arrests during a Palestine Action demonstration in London.
Metropolitan Police said 466 were detained under the Terrorism Act for showing support for a banned group.
Eight more people were arrested for other offences, including five for assaulting officers.
The Met said it was the most arrests it’s made related to a single operation in at least the past decade.
Pic: PA
Organiser of the event, Defend Our Juries, earlier said up to 700 people were at the event in Parliament Square and claimed police were preparing for the “largest mass arrest in their history”.
The group said those arrested included former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg, NHS workers, quakers and a blind wheelchair user.
Amnesty International UK’s chief executive Sacha Deshmukh said in a statement: “The protesters in Parliament Square were not inciting violence and it is entirely disproportionate to the point of absurdity to be treating them as terrorists.
“Instead of criminalising peaceful demonstrators, the government should be focusing on taking immediate and unequivocal action to put a stop to Israel’s genocide and ending any risk of UK complicity in it.”
The Met said a “significant number of people” at the event were seen “displaying placards expressing support for Palestine Action”.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The right to protest is one we protect fiercely but this is very different from displaying support for this one specific and narrow, proscribed organisation.
“Palestine Action was proscribed based on strong security advice following serious attacks the group has committed, involving violence, significant injuries and extensive criminal damage.”
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Palestine Action supporters arrested at protest
Police said those arrested had been taken to processing points in Westminster and any whose details could be confirmed were bailed on condition they didn’t attend further Palestine Action support events.
Others whose details could not be verified, possibly because they refused to give them, were taken to custody suites across London.
Pic: PA
The protests have put a strain on authorities’ capacity to cope.
Sky News understands senior leaders in the prison service, known as “Capacity Gold”, met today to discuss how to deal with the large number of arrests as the male prison estate is close to full.
It’s understood 800 inmates were moved out of the busiest jails in and around London beforehand.
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police Federation said: “Thinking of our colleagues and wishing all assaulted officers well. Remember there are no ‘extra’ police officers – just the same ones having their days off cancelled, having to work longer shifts and being moved from other areas. Officers are emotionally and physically exhausted.”
Read more: What does proscribing a group mean?
Legislation to ban Palestine Action came into force on 5 July, making it a criminal offence to show support for the organisation, carrying a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
Defend Our Juries said earlier this week the protest would still go ahead, following several similar demonstrations since it was outlawed last month.
On Saturday, a spokesperson said: “Palestine Action and people holding cardboard signs present no danger to the public at large.”
Pic: PA
Human rights advocates Amnesty International described the arrests of so many people under UK terrorism law as “deeply concerning”.
Another march organised by the Palestine Coalition, which is a separate group, set off from Russell Square and assembled on Whitehall.
The Met Police said one person had been arrested there for showing a placard in support of Palestine Action.
Pic: Reuters
Earlier this week, three people charged as a result of illegal Palestine Action activity were named.
Jeremy Shippam, 71, of West Sussex, Judit Murray, also 71, of Surrey, and Fiona Maclean, 53, of Hackney in east London, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 16 September.
The ban on Palestine Action faces a legal challenge in November after the High Court granted a full judicial review to Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori.
Foreign criminals will be deported from the UK immediately after they are sentenced, the justice secretary has said.
The law change proposed by Shabana Mahmood could save taxpayers an average of £54,000 a year per prison place.
The changes would apply to prisoners serving fixed-term “determinate” sentences.
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May: Inside one of Britain’s most overcrowded prisons
Authorities would also retain their power not to deport a criminal but instead keep them in custody – with examples including if an offender is planning further crimes against the UK’s interests or national security.
The justice secretary’s announcement goes further than a change to the law in June – expected to come into force in September – meaning prisoners face deportation 30% into their sentence rather than the current 50%.
The government will need parliament to greenlight its proposal to bring this down to 0%.
Foreign national offenders make up around 12% of the prison population.
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May: Male prison capacity running at 99%
Ms Mahmood said: “Our message is clear – if you abuse our hospitality and break our laws, we will send you packing.”
She added: “Deportations are up under this government, and with this new law they will happen earlier than ever before.”
Almost 5,200 foreign national offenders have been deported since July 2024, a 14% increase on the 12 months prior, according to the government.
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According to a Labour source, the previous Conservative government relied on prison transfer agreements with other countries to deport foreign national offenders, in deals which allow inmates to serve their custodial sentence in their “home” country.
This saw 945 prisoners sent to jails abroad between 2010 and 2023, equal to fewer than two criminals per week.
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Conservative shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said: “In Starmer’s topsy-turvy world, investors are fleeing the country in their droves while record numbers of violent and sexual offenders from abroad are put up in our prisons. It’s a farce.
“Yet again Starmer has refused to confront our broken human rights laws.
“He needs to grow a backbone and change them so we can actually deport these individuals.
“The safety of the British public is infinitely more important than the ‘rights’ of sick foreign criminals.
“If countries won’t take back their nationals, Starmer should suspend visas and foreign aid. His soft-touch approach isn’t working.”
Police have made 200 arrests in London after crowds turned out for a Palestine Action demonstration – despite the group being banned.
Organisers Defend Our Juries said up to 700 people were at the event in Parliament Square and claimed police were preparing for the “largest mass arrest in their history”.
The group said those arrested included former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg, NHS workers, quakers and a blind wheelchair user.
The Metropolitan Police said a “significant number of people” were seen “displaying placards expressing support for Palestine Action, which is a proscribed group”.
“We have now made 200 arrests in Parliament Square this afternoon,” the force wrote in a post on X.
In an earlier post, it wrote: “While many of those remaining in the square are media and onlookers, there are still people holding placards supporting Palestine Action. Officers are steadily working through the crowd making further arrests.”
An aerial view of Parliament Square
Protesters write on placards for the Lift the Ban campaign rally on Saturday. Pic: PA
Read more
What does proscribing a group mean?
Legislation to proscribe Palestine Action came into force on 5 July, making it a criminal offence to show support for the organisation, carrying a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
Defend Our Juries announced the protest would go ahead earlier this week despite the ban, following several other similar demonstrations since the proscription last month.
On Saturday, a spokesperson for the group said that “Palestine Action and people holding cardboard signs present no danger to the public at large”.
A woman is dragged away by police officers after attending the Palestine Action protest in Parliament Square. Pic: PA
Three people have been charged as a result of illegal Palestine Action activity.
Jeremy Shippam, 71, of West Sussex, Judit Murray, also 71, of Surrey, and Fiona Maclean, 53, of Hackney in east London, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 16 September.
Another march organised by the Palestine Coalition, which is a separate group, set off from Russell Square and assembled on Whitehall.
The Met Police said one person had been arrested there for showing a placard in support of the Palestine Action.
A man is detained by police officers in Parliament Square. Pic: PA
Crowds had assembled in Parliament Square by 1pm, with people seen writing “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” on placards.
Many remained silent while others sang pro-Palestine chants.
A Home Office spokesperson said in a previous statement: “The Home Secretary has been clear that the proscription of Palestine Action is not about Palestine, nor does it affect the freedom to protest on Palestinian rights.
“It only applies to the specific and narrow organisation whose activities do not reflect or represent the thousands of people across the country who continue to exercise their fundamental rights to protest on different issues.”
The ban faces a legal challenge in November after the High Court granted a full judicial review to Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori.
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