Russell Brand has been moved to a category C prison for his own safety, which offers yoga and indoor bowls, according to reports.
The 51-year-old comedian was jailed after being found guilty of raping one woman and sexually. According to The Sun on Sunday, he has now been moved out of HMP Wandsworth and transported to HMP Littlehey on Friday (November 13).
Move to HMP Littlehey
The prison, in Cambridgeshire, is said to offer a large variety of extra-curricular activities for its inmates, including hosting an inter-wing football league, choir sessions and origami classes.
The Sun reports that concerns for Brand's safety, and him being deemed a low escape risk, could have prompted the move to the 'cushy' jail.
Single-person cell and safety concerns
His new confines consist of a single-person cell on the prison's E Wing and he has yet to make contact with any of the other 1,200-odd inmates housed at the facility, according to the paper.
Retired prison governor Vanessa Frake said of the reported move: "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."
Sentence and release terms
Brand was sentenced to a 10-and-a-half-year prison term on Monday afternoon (November 9). He is expected to serve two-thirds of his prison sentence before being released on licence.
He will be on the sex offenders' register for life. The Ministry of Justice said it does not comment on individual prisoners.
