BBC accused of ‘enabling’ Russell Brand after he boasted that Beeb boss was ‘incredibly tolerant’ of his sexual conduct
THE BBC has been accused of enabling Russell Brand with the disgraced star claiming his Beeb boss was “incredibly tolerant” of his behaviour.
Brand, 51 – due to be sentenced on Monday – is being monitored around the clock by guards after he was found guilty on Thursday.
Brand was facing trial for three counts of rape, one count of attempted indecent assault and three counts of sexual assault.
Following eight and a half hours of deliberation the jury delivered guilty verdicts on three counts of sexual assault and one count of rape, bringing the four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court to a close.
He was refused bail and was sent down to the cells with two female dock officers after the verdict was handed down.
The jury found Brand guilty of groping an MTV worker during a party at a Soho bar in 2004, but not guilty of going on to rape her in a toilet.
He was also convicted of kissing and groping a Capital Radio worker after encountering her in a corridor in 2005.
And, he was found guilty of raping a 21-year-old fan at his Hampstead house after meeting her at a 2009 stand-up show at the Hammersmith Apollo.
Brand was also convicted by the jury of sexually assaulting a Channel 4 worker in 2009 when she had been forced to give him a massage.
The convictions piled further pressure on the BBC after it was revealed Brand had boasted his boss at the Beeb was “incredibly tolerant” of his sexual behaviour.
Britain’s public broadcaster has faced scrutiny over the actions of its stars in the past, including Huw Edwards and Jimmy Savile.
Channel 4 and MTV are also now under the spotlight for their alleged failures in how Brand’s behaviour was managed.
Liz Kershaw, a radio DJ who worked with the BBC for some 30 years, accused the corporation of “enabling Brand’s behaviour.”
Writing in The Telegraph, she said: “Maybe his enablers should finally have been brought to book. Media executives, comedy club promoters.
“His agent. After all, as Brand once said, ‘people will let you be a nutter as long as they are making money out of it.’”
Brand claimed in the mid-2000s that Lesley Douglas, his boss when he worked at BBC 2, “loved me and gave me lots of room – so I took that room.”
He claimed this included allowing him to use the disabled toilets for sex with radio competition winners.
Brand was also accused of raping two more women and could now face further criminal charges, it was revealed after the verdicts.
The court heard that one of the complaints comes from a woman who dated Brand when he was 30 years old and another was a 16-year-old schoolgirl.
The Metropolitan Police has confirmed that investigations are ongoing into the two allegations made against Brand.
After today’s guilty verdicts were delivered, Brand’s barrister launched into an extraordinary foul-mouthed rant at a journalist as he left the courtroom.
Ian Winter KC launched into the verbal tirade at Sunday Times journalist Rosamund Urwin.
He said to her: “I hope you are pleased with yourself”, and she was heard replying: “I’m pleased justice has been done.”
Mr Winter said during the clash: “Well, it wasn’t. You f***** it.” “Congratulations,” he added.
During the trial, Mr Winter had argued that reporting of allegations against Brand by Ms Urwin and others had “poisoned the well”, and rendered it impossible for him to have a fair trial.
The trial judge, Mr Justice Bennathan, dismissed an attempt by Brand to block his trial from taking place because of negative media coverage.
Brand’s verdicts in full
Count 1
Brand was charged with raping a woman in her hotel room after meeting her at cabaret show he was performing in on the fringes of the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth in 1999.
He was found not guilty of rape.
Count 2
He was accused of trying to drag an MTV worker into a toilet at her London offices in 2001
He was found not guilty of attempted indecent assault.
Count 3
Brand was accused of grabbing the breasts of an MTV worker he met at a friend’s party at Nordic Bar in London’s Soho in 2004 within seconds of meeting her.
He was found guilty of sexual assault.
Count 4
He was accused of dragging the same MTV worker he groped at the bar into the toilets and orally raping her.
He was found not guilty of rape.
Count 5
Brand was accused of kissing and groping a Choice FM radio worker in around 2004 or 2005 in front of his entourage.
He was found guilty of sexual assault.
Count 6
He was charged with raping a fan at his London home after they met when he invited her backstage after one of his gigs at the Hammersmith Apollo in February 2009.
He was found guilty of rape.
Count 7
He was charged with sexually assaulting a Channel 4 staffer by shoving his face in her groin when his entourage allegedly asked her to give him a massage in 2009.
He was found guilty of sexual assault.
Brand tried to smear journalists as “criminals” and claimed women accusing him of abuse were “fictional” in a doomed bid to avoid trial.
He argued he had been “destroyed” by a “trial by media” when the Times, the Sunday Times and a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary exposed him as a sexual predator in 2023.
A series of women came forward to police afterwards, speaking out about being raped, forcibly kissed and groped by Brand during his showbiz career.
Media claims published in 2023 sparked a criminal investigation and Brand was interviewed under caution four times between November 2023 and January 2024.
The former BBC Radio 2 presenter went on trial after he was accused of offences against six women from 1999 to 2009.
Brand denied all the charges, insisting any sexual contact was consensual.
The court heard how Brand became a “ruthless, calculated and manipulative” predator as he sought to satisfy his “voracious” sexual appetite as part of a depraved campaign to sleep with 5,000 women.
During the trial, Brand’s lawyer Ian Winter, had argued that reporting of allegations against Brand by Ms Urwin and others had “poisoned the well”, and rendered it impossible for him to have a fair trial.
The trial judge, Mr Justice Bennathan, dismissed an attempt by Brand to block his trial from taking place because of negative media coverage.
Brand tried to smear journalists as “criminals” and claimed women accusing him of abuse were “fictional” in a doomed bid to avoid trial.
He argued he had been “destroyed” by a “trial by media” when the Times, the Sunday Times and a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary exposed him as a sexual predator in 2023.
The convictions sparked claims the BBC and other broadcasters turned a blind eye to Brand’s behaviour.
An internal corporation report, published in 2023, found that numerous complaints about Brand had been ignored.
His former BBC boss previously issued a statement via a spokesperson.
It read: “Ms Douglas did not at any time encourage, enable and/or fail herself to take any adequate steps within her power with regard to the conduct of Mr Brand of which she was aware.”
Following Brand’s conviction, a BBC spokesperson said: “Firstly, the thoughts of everyone at the BBC are with the brave women who came forward and told their stories which led to a conviction in this case.
“There can be no place for the abuse of power.
“Across the industry, we must work together to ensure that anyone who suffers at someone else’s hand feels able to report it, that their concerns are taken seriously and that they are listened to.
“We published a detailed report in January 2025 into how complaints about Russell Brand’s conduct were handled. This looked at eight allegations of misconduct while he worked here between 2006 and 2008.
“It was of great concern to us that some people felt unable to raise concerns about Brand’s behaviour. We apologised to those impacted, for both the culture and failings at the time, and we reiterate that apology again today.”
The Sun has contacted the BBC for comment.