🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Russell Brand has been accused of rape and sexual assaults by women who have broken their silence on alleged attacks between 2006 and 2013
This is a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and @C4Dispatches
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@RosamundUrwin
@char_wace
@pmorganbentley
One woman alleges that Russell Brand raped her against a wall in his Los Angeles home. She was treated at a rape crisis centre on the same day, according to medical records
Text messages show that in the hours after leaving his house, the woman told Brand that she had been scared by him and felt taken advantage of, adding: ”When a girl say[s] NO it means no.”
Brand replied, saying he was “very sorry”
Another woman alleges that Brand assaulted her when he was 31 and she was 16 and still at school.
She said he referred to her as “the child” during an emotionally abusive and controlling relationship that lasted for about three months
She also said that Russell Brand once forced his penis down her throat, making her choke. She tried to push him off and said she had to punch him in the stomach to make him stop
Several others have also shared a range of allegations about Brand’s behaviour, including a woman who said that he sexually assaulted her while she worked with him in Los Angeles, and that he then threatened to take legal action if she told anyone else about her allegation
Most of the women, who do not know each other, have chosen to remain anonymous. Brand denies the allegations
Over the past few years, reporters have interviewed hundreds of sources who knew or worked with Brand: ex-girlfriends and their friends and family, comedians and other celebrities, and senior staff at the BBC, Channel 4 and other media organisations
#C4Dispatches
Along with these interviews we have seen private emails and text messages, submitted FoI requests, viewed medical and therapists’ notes, scrutinised Brand’s books and interviews, and watched and listened to hundreds of hours of his shows to corroborate allegations
The above is just a fraction of what is being reported, you should read the article in full here: thetimes.co.uk/article/russel…
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@RosamundUrwin & @char_wace talk to @manveenrana about their investigation into Russell Brand
On the eve of election day, the polls had predicted the closest race in modern times. Instead, it was a rout
With Donald Trump poised to sweep Kamala Harris in all seven swing states, the pollsters — despite spending an estimated half a billion dollars on surveying the nation — underestimated the president-elect’s support for the third election in a row
🔺EXCLUSIVE: King Charles and his eldest son make millions from feudal levies on schools, hospitals, homeowners and the very charities they represent, a joint investigation by The Sunday Times and @C4Dispatches reveals today thetimes.com/uk/royal-famil…
@C4Dispatches The ancient property empires that fund the King and the Prince of Wales have remained a closely guarded secret within the royal family and its small circle of advisers for centuries.
Even parliament has been denied access to the list of landholdings held by the royals
@C4Dispatches We used the royal addresses to uncover how the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall are making millions of pounds by charging government departments, councils, businesses and the general public via a series of rents and feudal levies on land largely seized by medieval monarchs
Sir Keir Starmer has rejected Donald Trump's claims of US election meddling but the Republican presidential candidate has filed an official complaint — follow live updates below ⬇️
The complaint was filed on Monday by Gary Lawkowski, Trump’s deputy campaign manager, and accuses Labour of “forgetting the message” of the American War of Independence
The Trump campaign have used a post by Sofa Patel, Labour’s head of operations, as evidence of its claim of election interference.
Patel said in a LinkedIn post last week that she had almost 100 “current (and former) party staff” ready to campaign for Harris in many swing states
🔺EXCLUSIVE: Rosie Duffield (@RosieDuffield1) has resigned as a Labour MP, blaming Sir Keir Starmer’s “cruel and unnecessary” policies and the freebies row that is engulfing him and his party
Duffield, 53, has become the fastest MP to jump ship after a general election in modern political history. She is writing to the prime minister today informing him of her decision to resign the whip “with immediate effect”
In her resignation letter, which she has shared with The Sunday Times exclusively, Duffield condemned Starmer for accepting gifts worth more than £100,000, including clothing, glasses and accommodation paid for by Lord Alli, the Labour peer
Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff has been accused of “subverting” cabinet ministers in an effort to secure a government bailout of up to £310m to rebuild a derelict stadium in Belfast thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar…
Sue Gray has angered government officials and ministers by “personally dominating” negotiations for a bailout for Casement Park, a dilapidated Gaelic games venue due to host matches at the 2028 European football championship
Gray’s close interest in the project, which is politically contentious in Northern Ireland, has caused resentment among Labour ministers who have been told there is no money for new spending commitments
Slovakia’s populist prime minister, Robert Fico, has been injured in a shooting and taken to hospital, according to local reports ⬇️ thetimes.co.uk/article/slovak…
🔺 UPDATE: Slovakia’s populist prime minister, Robert Fico, is in a life-threatening condition after being shot in the street ⬇️