Kemi Badenoch faced the fury of Labour MPs at Prime Minister's Questions this afternoon after referencing Russell Brand in a putdown aimed at the foreign secretary.
Ed Miliband, then the leader of the Labour Party, met Brand for a 15-minute video ahead of the 2015 general election in which they debated whether politics can have a positive impact. At the time, Brand was attempting to forge a new identity as a voice for left-wing political apathy after years as a controversy-courting comedian.
But on Monday, he was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison after being convicted of rape and three sexual assaults, all of which took place across five years in the 2000s.
Badenoch's quip and the backlash
While grilling Andy Burnham at today's PMQs, Badenoch raised Miliband's past opposition to drilling at the Rosebank oil field. The Tory leader smirked as she said: '[Miliband] called Rosebank "climate vandalism" – but then, he also thought cosying up to Russell Brand would make him prime minister, so I don't think we need to trust his judgement.'
Labour MPs immediately started shouting 'shame' at her across the House of Commons chamber. Badenoch responded: 'They're saying "shame"… they're right, the foreign secretary should be ashamed.'
Miliband himself was not in the chamber, as he was attending the Cop31 climate talks in Antalya, Turkey.
Labour's regrets over the interview
Brand's conviction and subsequent sentencing have raised awkward questions for Labour, which generated masses of publicity both good and bad with the interview more than 11 years ago.
Education Secretary Lucy Powell, who was Miliband's chief of staff around the time the video was set up, told Sky News yesterday she 'really regrets' it.
Speaking after allegations first emerged in the media about Brand's behaviour three years ago, Miliband said the chat had been set up because he 'wanted to get to the people who [Brand] was influencing, to say voting does make a difference'.
A spokesperson for the foreign secretary said: 'These are horrific crimes that Russell Brand has been found guilty of, and Ed's profound sympathy is with the victims. As he said in 2023, "of course, knowing what I know now – and I was not aware of those allegations at the time about Russell Brand – I wouldn't have done that interview and I regret doing it."'
Prime minister's response
After PMQs today, the prime minister's spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister was asked about this on Friday in an interview with the BBC. As he said, it's not always the case that people know everything about people in public life, but what is important is where there is wrongdoing, it is exposed. The PM also praised the bravery of the victims, saying credit to the victims, huge credit for the courage it's taken, but also for the journalists that have exposed this.'
