Russell Brand has been transferred to a new prison as details emerge about the inmates he will be living with. The 51-year-old comedian was convicted of rape and sexual assault last week and sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison.
Brand had been held at HMP Wandsworth in London, but was moved to Category C HMP Littlehey in Cambridgeshire on Friday as part of a secret operation. He reportedly asked for his own blanket on his first night at the new facility.
Reaction to prison placement
Retired prison governor Vanessa Frake told The Sun: “I am absolutely flabbergasted that he is in a Category C prison.”
“He has no previous convictions, but he has got a substantial sentence — and there’s possibly more in the pipeline. His high public profile and nature of the convictions, and his vulnerability to attacks will all have been encompassed in his risk assessment. But I am surprised they have downgraded him to a Category C already. I’d have thought Category B would have been more appropriate.”
Former Met detective Mick Neville also told The Sun: “He will now be living with fellow perverts and sex offenders and will have years to repent and learn the errors of his ways.”
Warnings about Wandsworth
This comes after Brand was warned he would face "hell on Earth" in HMP Wandsworth. Chris Atkins, who served eight months at the prison for tax fraud, told the BBC: "The first month is hands-down the worst. The mental shock is absolutely colossal. It was colossal for me and it's going to be 10 times worse for him because of the nature of his offences and the height from which he's fallen."
"He has to come to terms with it and the pure physical shock of suddenly being trapped in a dungeon for weeks on end with nobody to talk to most of the time is ghastly."
More women have now made allegations against Brand in interviews with The Times and a Netflix documentary. The Times reports allegations of sexual misconduct from six women. Brand has denied non-consensual sexual activity.
