Russell Brand's barrister launched into a verbal tirade at a journalist after his client was convicted of rape and sexual assault. As he was leaving the courtroom this afternoon, Ian Winter KC took a foul-mouthed swipe at Sunday Times journalist Rosamund Urwin, whose work had sparked the criminal trial.
The lawyer said to her: "I hope you are pleased with yourself", with Ms Urwin replying: "I'm pleased justice has been done." Mr Winter then responded: "Well, it wasn't. You f***ed it." He added: "Congratulations."
Defence Claims of Media Prejudice
During the trial at Southwark Crown Court, Mr Winter had argued in Brand's defence 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, had also dismissed an attempt by Brand to block his trial from taking place because of negative media coverage.
The judge had simply ruled the jury could be made up of people who had not seen the media reporting in 2023, when The Times, the Sunday Times, and a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary exposed the comedian as a sexual predator. Brand argued he had been "destroyed" by a "trial by media" when the stories came out, as a series of women came forward to police after the media reporting, speaking out about being raped, forcibly kissed, and groped by the 51-year-old during his showbiz career.
Convictions and Acquittal
Despite the comedian-turned-conspiracy theorist's pre-trial claims that he had suffered more prejudice than the likes of serial killer Rose West and notorious hate preacher Abu Hamza, Mr Justice Bennathan refused to throw out the charges. Today, Brand was convicted of one count of rape and three sexual assaults.
The comedian was found guilty of raping a 21-year-old fan after meeting her at a 2009 stand-up show at the Hammersmith Apollo. He was further found guilty of sexually assaulting a Channel 4 worker during a forced massage in 2009. Jurors also found Brand guilty of sexually assaulting a Capital Radio worker after encountering her in a corridor in 2005. They also found him guilty of groping another MTV worker during a party at a Soho bar in 2004, but not guilty of going on to orally rape her in a toilet.
