Russell Brand’s rape and sexual assault trial officially began in London on Wednesday, where the court heard him characterised as a “ruthless” predator who laughed at women when they refused to agree to his sexual demands.
The presenter and actor, 51, is accused of three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault, and one allegation of indecent assault, relating to allegations made by six women. Brand denies all the allegations.
Southwark Crown Court heard disturbing details about the alleged incidents, which are said to have occurred between 1999 and 2009, when the star was at the height of his fame.
Why water firms could be due customers £240m by 2030
Poor supplier performance means households are set to see £240m taken off their water bills by 2030, regulator Ofwat has announced.
Water firms not hitting targets
The water watchdog said it was looking at imposing penalties on a number of firms across the sector for not meeting environmental and customer service targets in the 2025-26 financial year.
- A total of £240m could be returned through customers’ bills by 2029-30, with £107m to be returned in 2027-28.
Why the reduction is unlikely to impact your wallet
However, cuts to bills will likely be offset for many customers by recent plans announced by Ofwat to permit water firms to raise annual tariffs by an extra £3.4bn.
This is in addition to the 36 per cent rise agreed over the five years to 2030.
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Who could see the biggest reductions?
Customers of Yorkshire Water could see £27 taken off their bills for under-performance on average, with a £7 reduction for those at Thames Water, according to Ofwat.
Meanwhile, some firms will see outperformance payments, such as Severn Trent and Northumbrian Water.
Ofwat stressed that changes to bills are “affected by a range of factors and the effect will vary by company and customer type”. It will make its on the payments by 15 December, taking effect on next year.
Burnham’s water plans
- Last month, plans were revealed for laws to pave the way for public ownership of water companies.
- It has sparked conversation about a possible temporary nationalisation of debt-ridden Thames Water.
- Andy Burnham has previously warned customers “cannot be treated as a blank cheque” after Ofwat announced plans in August to allow additional bill increases.
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Finally, sewage-dumping water bosses to lose their bonuses
The move marks a new win for The i Paper’s Save Britain’s Rivers campaign, which has been calling for tougher measures to restrict bonuses at underperforming water firms.
Russell Brand ‘concerned’ as trial prosecution begins
Russell Brand said he is feeling “concerned” as prosecutors begin presenting their case against him in his trial on rape and sexual assault charges.
What is Brand accused of?
The 51-year-old entertainer faces three allegations of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one allegation of indecent assault, after being accused by six women.
Previous court hearings have been told how Brand, who denies all charges, is accused of raping a woman in a hotel room at a Labour Party conference in Bournemouth.
He also allegedly grabbed a TV worker’s breasts and forced her into a sex act in a toilet and is said to have kissed and groped a radio station worker.
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More detail
- The accusations against Brand date from 1999 to 2009.
- A jury was selected at Southwark Crown Court on Monday and Tuesday, before prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC opened the prosecution’s case on Wednesday.
- Arriving at court, Brand said: “Today I feel blessed. I feel, of course, concerned but hopeful that this process will lead to good outcomes for everybody involved.”
- Brand’s wife, Laura Gallacher, has supported him at court this week as the case continues.
What has been said in court
The court heard on Wednesday that Brand is “ruthless, calculated and manipulative”, a “sexual predator” according to the prosecution, who raped and groped women to satisfy his “huge sexual appetite”.
He was “obsessed” with sex and treated women as a “means to an end,” the court was told. Brand was described as “child-like in his expectation that his every desire should be met”.
“Regardless of who they were and what they said or did, the defendant was not deterred… He could be nice when he wanted to be – funny, undoubtedly; charming, likeable even… But then demanding, entitled, a flirt with a huge sexual appetite… Uppermost in his mind was his insatiable desire to get what he wanted”
prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC
A man’s body has been recovered, with two others still unaccounted for, after a fishing vessel went missing off the Outer Hebrides.
Everything we know so far
HM Coastguard have said they were made aware of the missing ship, which was sailing off Port Ness on the Isle of Lewis, at around 9.20pm on Tuesday.
- Police Scotland were notified at about 11.35pm. The force said three men were aboard.
- The body of one man has been recovered. The man’s family have been made aware and are being supported by officers.
Search under way
A Coastguard aeroplane, two helicopters, six rescue teams, two RNLI lifeboats, a local vessel and Police Scotland are involved in the search, which is being carried out amid a yellow weather warning for high winds in the region.
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Pope Leo diagnosed with lung cancer after surgery
Pope Leo XIV has been diagnosed with cancer following a “successful” operation to remove the lower lobe of his right lung, the Vatican has announced.
A common type of lung cancer
Doctors confirmed the diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, a common type of lung cancer, after pre-planned surgery at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital. Dr Luigi Carbone and Professor Stefano Margaritora said cancer had been suspected by pre-operative tests.
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What else do we know?
- The surgery lasted around 90 minutes and had no complications.
- Pope Leo had a “peaceful night” in hospital, where he is expected to remain for about a week.
- The 71-year-old pontiff cancelled all public events until 20 October to give him time to recover.
- It is understood that King Charles is writing privately to the Pope to pass on his well-wishes.
Hope for quick recovery
- The Vatican did not give more details of the operation, but Margaritora is an expert in robotic surgical techniques and Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery (Vats).
- Using small incisions by endoscopic instruments equipped with a high-definition camera, Vats reduces surgical trauma and can result in faster recovery.
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Reactions from religious leaders and supporters
Archbishop Richard Moth, leader of the Catholics in England and Wales, said: “I have sent a message on behalf of all in the Catholic Church in England and Wales, assuring him [the Pope] of our prayers.”
- Large crowds gathered outside the hospital to wait for the Pope before his surgery. One well-wisher, Carla, told the BBC she was “taken aback” by the news, adding: “It turns out he’s vulnerable too.”
New dinosaur species discovered from ‘overlooked’ fossil
A new species of dinosaur has been identified from an “overlooked” fossil which was found on the Isle of Wight more than 100 years ago, researchers have said.
The history of the fossil
The fossil, which was a piece of the back of a skull, was originally found at the foot of a cliff on the south-west coast of the Isle of Wight by amateur palaeontologist Reginald Walter Tooley. It was procured by the Natural History Museum in 1924.
Dr Cassius Morrison of University College London said it was a “real mystery” why the fossil had been overlooked.
A megaraptoran
The new dinosaur, named Invictibellatrix amberina (with the former meaning “unconquered female warrior”), has and is about the size of a large tiger.
It is part of a group of agile, two-legged carnivores called . These were closely related to tyrannosaurus but had more slender heads and used their claws to attack prey rather than their jaws.
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A mysterious species
- Megaraptors are seen as the most mysterious of the large carnivorous dinosaurs, with few fossils found.
- Until this discovery, no megaraptorans had been found in Europe.
- Researchers suggest invictibellatrix would have been three to four meters long and just over a metre and a half tall.
- They also speculate it would likely have had feathers and 10-20cm long claws.
- Its diet is thought to have consisted of small dinosaurs, lizards and mammals.
Rules, London’s oldest restaurant, given to National Trust
The home of Rules, London’s oldest restaurant which has been there since 1798, has been donated to the National Trust.
The charity said the donation of the £11m site by J-P Mayhew, its owner of 40 years, would secure the future of a building where “kings dined and writers and politicians plotted”.
The freehold acquisition included visitor books, menus, caricatures, photographs, stained glass and signs. Annual rent from the restaurant business will also go into conservation work.
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Famous diners
Rules is no stranger to celebrity, having welcomed figures from and – who would rendezvous with his mistresses there – to and over the past two centuries.
The restaurant, located at 34-35 Maiden Lane in Covent Garden, central London, has outlasted empires and overcome challenges including the Blitz during the Second World War as well as plans for a dual carriageway.
A long future ahead
This place is an outstanding piece of living history… it has defied the odds to be standing here today, doors still open and treacle sponge still on the menu. Mr Mayhew’s extraordinary generosity, and the care he has poured into Rules over many decades, mean this beloved place has a future measured not in years but generations.
Hilary McGrady, director-general of the National Trust
Opening the case against him, Riel Karmy-Jones KC told the court that Brand forced women into sexual acts in an “obsessive” campaign to sleep with 5,000 women.
Karmy-Jones said Brand was a “ruthless, calculated and manipulative” sexual predator.
Here are five key takeaways from the start of the trial, which is expected to last six weeks.
‘Brand sniggered after kissing and groping woman’
Brand “sniggered” after kissing and groping a woman, as members of his entourage looked on and did nothing to help her, the court heard.
The woman who met Brand at a radio station in the mid-2000s said he “grabbed her by the face with both hands” before he “pushed her up against a wall, where he kissed her sloppily and aggressively”, Karmy-Jones told the court.
She added: “She remembers it being very wet. During this assault, he also grabbed her body, at her breasts, sides and buttocks aggressively.
“She tried to push him off, but he was too strong and he continued to kiss her on her face, and down her neck and onto her chest area, grabbing her bum, moving his mouth towards her cleavage, grabbing her breast so hard that it was painful.”
The woman managed to push him away after members of Brand’s entourage failed to help her despite her looking at them in the hope they would intervene, Karmy-Jones claimed.
‘Brand groped woman and tried to pull her into toilet’
Another alleged victim said Brand “lunged” at her and grabbed her breasts before grinning, when they were talking about reality TV show in a bar in London’s Soho district in July 2004.
Karmy-Jones claimed Brand then grabbed the woman’s arm and pulled her into the toilets where he orally raped her – despite her saying “I don’t want to do this”.
She said: “He just said: ‘Oh come on don’t be a spoilsport, you want to’ or something along those lines.”
The woman said she “froze and didn’t know what to do” during the incident, and when released by Brand, he just left after she started banging on the door.
‘He stripped half-naked and performed silly walks before rape’
Brand is accused of raping a woman he had met after she watched him perform a cabaret show on the fringes of the 1999 Labour Party conference in Bournemouth.
Karmy-Jones told jurors the woman initially thought Brand was gay, and invited him to her hotel room to continue their conversation.
It is claimed that Brand then stripped half-naked and performed silly walks like an ostrich and Basil Fawlty, Karmy-Jones told the court. Basil Fawlty is the main character of the hit 1970s British sitcom .
Later in the hotel room, the woman says Brand “pushed her onto the bed” and raped her.
Afterwards, she says Brand “behaved as if nothing had happened” and suggested that his mother would like to meet her.
‘Brand apologised for treating woman he raped like an animal’
Brand had sex with a woman without consent after meeting her when she was in the audience at a Hammersmith Apollo show in 2009, it is alleged.
Prosecutors say she had a threesome with Brand backstage, then had consensual sex with the star at his home in Hampstead, north London.
She claimed Brand then raped her at his home, looked “horrified” afterwards, and then allegedly forced her to “clean up the mess”.
Karmy-Jones said Brand texted the woman the following year after seeing each other in a chance encounter in Scotland.
She said she messaged Brand: “Why are you even messaging me?”, and he replied: “Because you’re dirty, and I wanna push you further.”
The court heard she claims she replied: “I think you pushed me far enough – you treated me like an animal”, and she says Brand replied: “I’m sorry.”
‘Woman assaulted after being persuaded to give Brand a massage’
The final alleged victim, a Channel 4 worker, accuses Brand of sexual assault as he was filming for a project in 2009.
Karmy-Jones told the court that after filming Brand became “angry, fed up, and petulant”, adding the woman was informed by members of his entourage he was “unhappy” and the situation would not improve unless she gave him a massage.
The prosecutor said: “She thought they must be joking but then realised they meant it. She said no, and they said she had to.”
It is said Brand walked up to a chair the woman was sitting on and placed his head directly into her groin area, before telling her, “come on then, do it”.
The alleged victim says she “froze” as Brand assaulted her.
The trial continues.