🔺 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…
🎙️Listen to a special edition of #StoriesOfOurTimes
@RosamundUrwin & @char_wace talk to @manveenrana about their investigation into Russell Brand
British 16 and 17-year-olds are more patriotic than the public overall, but are indifferent about the monarchy, according to a new poll ⬇️
The second part of research for The Sunday Times found that 49% say they are proud of their national identity, while 10% say they are ashamed, a net positive score of 39. Across the population as a whole, 45% are proud while 15% are ashamed, a net score of 30
Despite their national pride, however, these teenagers are no great fans of the royal family. Almost a quarter – 27% – support abolishing the monarchy, while 24% oppose it. Meanwhile 35% say they neither support nor oppose it, and 15% say they don’t know
🔺EXCLUSIVE: Tommy Robinson charging £28 a minute as personal coach to far right.
The self-styled ‘fearless British activist’ is advising clients on issues including protesting, evading infiltration and ‘investigating’ local mosques. Read the full story below
The far-right activist Tommy Robinson is making thousands of pounds charging his followers for video consultations offering “expert advice” on anti-Islam activism
Robinson, 42, who co-founded the English Defence League (EDL), has used a personal mentoring platform to deliver more than 300 sessions in the past two months
🔺EXCLUSIVE: Memos fired off by the monarch to correct grammar and demand single flowers be moved are wrecking morale among staff who are paid as little as minimum wage ⬇️
For 45 years, Highgrove House has been the King’s private home. He still regularly spends several days a week at the house, tending to the exotic flowers and plants that are his pride and joy
In the summer of 2021, Charles quietly signed a deal to preserve his influence over the property when he became King, when they would be due to fall into his son’s hands
🔺EXCLUSIVE: Zia Yusuf is returning to Reform UK just 48 hours after resigning as the party’s chairman and will take up a new role following peace talks with Nigel Farage
In an interview with The Sunday Times, the 38-year-old businessman said his decision to quit was a “mistake”, the result of “exhaustion” and working for 11 months “without a day off”
He was speaking alongside Farage, who said Yusuf will now effectively be doing “four jobs”, although his formal title has not been decided
🔺 EXCLUSIVE: A Liberal Democrat MP has been refused entry to Hong Kong to visit her newborn grandson
Wera Hobhouse, 65, flew to the Chinese region — a British territory until 1997 — on Thursday but was held at airport security, questioned and put on the first flight home five hours later
She had her passport confiscated, was asked about her job and purpose of her trip, had her luggage searched and swabbed, and was then escorted to the boarding gate by four immigration officers