Russell Brand has been placed under a red alert in prison to ensure he is never left alone with a woman while serving his 10-year sentence for rape and sexual assault. The marker on his official prison record orders that no lone females be left with him during his incarceration, a move aimed at protecting women working inside the judicial system.
Prison marker details
The Daily Star Sunday has been told a marker has been placed on the sex offender's file. A prison insider said: "The marker could be downgraded in time if he displays good behaviour and remorse for his crimes. But it definitely won't be for a while. He still seems to be showing no signs of admitting guilt, despite the trial finding him very much guilty."
Brand was jailed on Monday (November 9) after being found guilty of rape and sexual assault following an eight-week trial. He was initially placed in the Care and Separation Unit after being taken to HMP Wandsworth following his conviction.
Transfer to HMP Wakefield
The Category B prison in Wandsworth, South West London, is one of the largest in the UK and is known for violence. It has been condemned as "unsafe, squalid and overcrowded" in recent inspection reports, with former inmates including Ronnie Kray, Gary Glitter and Charles Bronson.
Brand is reportedly set to transfer soon to HMP Wakefield, known as Monster Mansion, a Category A prison in West Yorkshire that has housed some of Britain's most notorious criminals. Lostprophets paedophile Ian Watkins was murdered inside the prison last year, and other notable inmates have included Harold Shipman, Charles Bronson, Levi Bellfield and Roy Whiting.
Impact on prison routine
The prison insider said: "Quite rightly, no female officers want to be alone with him, but it is going to make his time behind bars and outside his cell quite tricky. There has been a mass influx of female prison officers in recent years, and now there are more females than male prison guards in quite a few prisons."
"Female prison guards tend to calm things a lot more quickly than guards, so we find a female presence really works in some of the higher-security prisons, and Wakefield is definitely that. But given Brand's crimes, females will understandably be wary."
The insider added that Brand will need to show remorse and accountability in the eyes of prison officials to have an easier time serving his sentence. As part of his "prison pathway", he will have to engage in courses designed for sexual offences to get out early, including the healthy sex programme, building choices and the core sex offender treatment programme, now known as "Challenge to Change".
"The problem for Brand is going to be that so many of these courses are delivered by female therapists - and how many are going to feel safe working with him. And who can blame them," the insider said.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said they do not comment on individual prisoners.
