‘Jimmy Savile police unit’ to help with Russell Brand probe

Officers from a police unit set up after the Jimmy Savile scandal to respond to ‘non-recent’ sexual offences are working with Scotland Yard detectives over Russell Brand allegations.

Russell Brand has been accused of multiple counts of sexual abuse.

Officers from a police unit set up after the Jimmy Savile scandal to respond to “non-recent” sexual offences are working with Scotland Yard detectives handling the Russell Brand allegations.

A spokesman for Operation Hydrant confirmed that it was supporting the Metropolitan Police after allegations of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse were reported in a joint investigation by The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches.

Four women have alleged that the comedian and actor sexually assaulted them between 2006 and 2013, when he was a BBC and Channel 4 presenter and then a Hollywood actor. Brand has denied the allegations and said his relationships have all been consensual.

Since the claims were published, another woman has gone to the Met to allege that she was sexually assaulted in Soho, central London, in 2003. Brand has not responded to requests for comment about the police report.

Operation Hydrant was set up in 2014 during concern about child abuse and sexual offences involving “persons of public prominence”.

A spokesman for Operation Hydrant said: “We are working with the Metropolitan Police in support of their response to recent allegations and would urge any victim or survivor who feels ready to report any allegations of sexual assault to come forward and speak to officers.”

The police unit has identified more than 9,000 suspected sex offenders. Its latest statistics classified 250 suspects, including 58 people from the world of television, film or radio, as public figures. More than 1,100 people are the subject of live investigations.

The spokesman said: “The Hydrant program does not provide comment on the status … of individual investigations – this is a matter for forces.”

Jimmy Savile. Picture: Getty Images.

Russell Brand poses in a hot tub.

The entertainment world has been rocked by the allegations about Brand’s behaviour. One woman, who is being referred to as Nadia, alleges that Brand raped her in Los Angeles in July 2012. Medical notes suggest she was treated at a rape crisis centre on the same day.

Text messages show that after leaving Brand’s home, Nadia told him she felt taken advantage of and wrote: “When a girl say[s] NO it means no.” Brand replied that he was “very sorry”.

Another woman, referred to as Alice, alleges a sexual assault by Brand when she was 16. She also claims Brand once used his BBC account car to have her collected from school so she could play truant and visit him at his home.

Two other women agreed to share their allegations of sexual assaults by Brand, and others have accused him of a range of allegations including physical and emotional abuse, sexual harassment, predatory behaviour and bullying. Since the investigation was published, more women have come forward to The Times and The Sunday Times with allegations about Brand. These claims have not been investigated and will be rigorously checked.

Russell Brand and wife Laura Gallacher. Picture: Youtube

Investigations have been opened by the BBC, Channel 4 and a TV company.

Serious questions have been raised about how his most explicit and misogynistic shows were broadcast. The BBC has pulled TV and radio shows featuring Brand from its catch-up services.

The BBC said its investigation would be conducted with full transparency.

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording AcademyBrand has denied the allegations and said all his relationships have been consensual.

Several organisations have said they are no longer working with Brand. His live tour has been postponed and YouTube has suspended Brand’s ability to make money on the site.

Rumble, a Toronto-based website hosting Brand’s videos, “emphatically” rejected a request from parliament’s culture, media and sport committee to provide information about whether the comedian was able to monetise content and what it was doing to protect victims. It added that it was “dangerous” that UK parliament “would attempt to control who is allowed to speak on our platform or to earn a living” from it.

The Met said officers were in contact with the woman who has made the allegation about an assault in 2003.

The Times and The Sunday Times gave Brand eight days before publication to reply to the allegations.

His lawyers said the newspapers had posed a “litany of questions”. Pressed to provide a full response, the lawyers did not reply. Brand said on YouTube there were some “serious allegations that I absolutely refute”.

The Times