Allegations about Brand’s behaviour first emerged in the media in September 2023.
The Times, Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches programme jointly reported that four women had accused him of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse – claims he strongly denied.
The investigation into other reports against Brand began soon after the story broke.
“We kind of assumed that people might want to come forward,” Furphy said, “and people came forward.”
Victim reports were made to forces across the country and the Met set up a dedicated team of officers to lead the investigation, which it called Operation Actinolite. Officers said they have since taken more than 340 witness statements – including from Brand’s former employers, his ex-colleagues and associates.
One officer was assigned to read Brand’s books, watch his stand-up routines and DVDs and listen to his podcasts to help build the case.
His high profile and the intense media scrutiny around him proved a challenge to officers, said Furphy.
Another complexity for the team was the allegations were all “non-recent”. The earliest dated back 27 years. It meant there was no CCTV and no forensic evidence to work with.
Furphy said police had to look for other ways to build their case.
“Can we look at where the victims were at the time? Who did they speak to in the aftermath of it? Did they tell anybody else? What other available material is there for us to review that might lend some weight to it? Just because it’s non-recent doesn’t mean that we can’t solve it at all.”
Brand’s former friend was called to court to give evidence for the prosecution, while a statement from the parents of one of the women was heard.
The entertainer’s former personal assistant, who worked closely with Brand, told the jury about his “insane sexual appetite”.