Labour criticised for overlooking Russell Brand’s public controversies before 2015 interview

The article is an opinion piece criticising Lucy Powell for saying there were no warning signs about Russell Brand before his 2015 interview with Ed Miliband. It argues that Brand’s previous public controversies and reputation should have been known, and that Labour’s decision to associate him with Miliband’s campaign was a cynical attempt to appeal to younger voters.

It cites Brand’s 2008 prank calls to actor Andrew Sachs and his dismissal from XFM, and says more than seven in ten UK adult internet users had a social media profile in 2015. It also notes Powell had been on Twitter since 2009 and that Andy Burnham had publicly supported Brand the previous year. The piece then criticises early prisoner release and welcomes Kemi Badenoch’s proposed welfare strategy; these are presented as the writer’s opinions.