A BBC journalist who visited the prison now housing Russell Brand has described it as “by far the worst” she has ever seen. Sima Kotecha, senior UK correspondent for the BBC, wrote about the “crazy” conditions inside HMP Wandsworth in 2025, where overcrowding has created “chaos” for prisoners.
Brand, a convicted sex offender and disgraced comedian, has begun his 10-and-a-half-year sentence at the Category-C prison. He is currently being held in an isolation unit with his own cell, away from other inmates.
Victorian-era jail struggling with overcrowding
Wandsworth dates back to the Victorian era. Kotecha recalled being struck by “the smell of urine from the gutters that line the cell blocks.” She said: “I've been inside several prisons during my career but this was by far the worst,” adding that the prison is currently housing almost double the number of inmates it was designed for.
A 2024 report found the prison was “crumbling, overcrowded and vermin-infested.” It also noted that the number of deaths at Wandsworth had more than doubled from four to 10 in the space of a year, with six self-inflicted.
Assaults, self-harm and use of force
Almost 1,000 assaults and a similar number of self-harm incidents were reported between June 2023 and May 2024. Force was used against prisoners on 1,874 occasions in that period.
Most cells were designed to hold just one prisoner when the jail first opened in 1851, but most now house two. The report also found rat faeces in the shower blocks and pigeon droppings on the landings.
Heating, blankets and lockdowns
Access to heating was intermittent because of malfunctioning boilers, and in the summer temperatures reached more than 35 degrees Celsius. A wing housing 122 men in May 2024 had access to only 50 blankets, 25 sheets, 30 towels and no underwear.
Prisoners were often locked up for 22 hours per day due to staff shortages. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said two years ago: “The new government inherited a justice system in crisis and has been forced to take action and get a grip of the situation across the prison estate, so we can lock up dangerous offenders, protect the public and make prisons safer for hard-working staff.
“Earlier this month, the lord chancellor announced that the prison service is deploying extra specialist staff and will redirect £100m to be spent over five years at HMP Wandsworth to ensure immediate action is taken to improve conditions.”
Upon entry to the prison, Brand would have been subjected to a strip search and medical assessment.
