Russell Brand's barrister has been accused of repeating "damaging myths about rape" after claiming one of the celebrity's victims was "not particularly vulnerable".
Ian Winter KC made the remarks about a woman whose breasts Brand groped at a Soho bar in 2004. He was speaking on Monday while mitigating for the disgraced celebrity before Brand was jailed for more than ten years.
Mr Winter argued the incident falls at the bottom of culpability under sentencing guidelines because it was a "very, very short incident". On the rape conviction, he said it occurred after "fully consensual vaginal intercourse" and "was quite a short... momentary total failure to respect her consent".
Judge's response to defence arguments
During Brand's sentencing, Mr Justice Joel Bennathan criticised the arguments put forward to lessen the sentence. He said: "Whatever women wear, wherever they go, indeed whatever they drink, they retain the right to say no and to demand justice from the criminal courts when sexual predators like you, Russell Brand, act without their consent."
Mr Winter was already under fire for comments made about the victims during the trial, after saying in his closing speech: "Not one of them resisted, or screamed or even tried to leave."
Criticism from legal experts and officials
Dr Charlotte Proudman, a barrister specialising in violence against women and girls, said of Brand's defence: "These remarks perpetuate some of the most damaging myths about rape. Rape does not become less serious because it lasts seconds rather than minutes. Consent is not a blank cheque. Agreeing to one sexual act does not mean agreeing to another."
She added: "We must stop measuring the seriousness of sexual violence by how long it lasted, how much a woman drank, or whether she initially consented to sexual activity. The law must recognise the violation of consent and the harm suffered by the victim. These narratives do not just minimise individual assaults. They reinforce the myths that make survivors afraid to report rape in the first place."
Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley previously said Brand's defence comments should be "considered". He said: "We have to look out for the danger of having rape myths and that seems to be what the defence were doing there. The evidence is really clear, there is not one way a victim of a rape will react. Some people will freeze, some people will fight, some people will tell everyone straight away, some people will bottle it up for years….And it's wrong to put in the jury's mind that a reaction in a particular way undermines the credibility of the victim and I am concerned about the way that was attempted in this case."
Call for new legal duty and barrister's referral
The Victims Commissioner Claire Waxman has called for a new legal duty on judges to direct juries on rape myths and misconceptions, if they have been ventured during a trial.
In an incident after the guilty verdicts, Mr Winter was also seen verbally abusing Sunday Times journalist Rosamund Urwin, whose investigation led to Brand's victims coming forward. He told her: "I hope you are pleased with yourself." Ms Urwin responded: "I'm pleased justice has been done", before Mr Winter said: "Well, it wasn't. You f***** it."
In a statement issued on Friday lunchtime, Mr Winter said he has now referred himself to the Bar Standards Board, his professional regulator.
