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Russell Brand’s lawyer challenges accusers’ accounts in closing speech
Russell Brand’s barrister has urged jurors to question the accounts of women who accuse him of sexual offences, arguing that their failure to resist, complain or report the alleged attacks undermines the prosecution case. Brand denies the charges, and the jury must decide whether the evidence proves them.
In his closing speech at Southwark Crown Court, Ian Winter KC questioned why six women came forward after a 2023 television programme rather than during the MeToo movement in 2017. Brand faces three counts of rape, three of sexual assault and one of attempted indecent assault, relating to allegations spanning 1999 to 2009. His wife, Laura, and father-in-law Bernard Gallacher attended court in support.
In short
- Brand denies seven sexual offence charges.
- His barrister challenged the accusers’ accounts in closing arguments.
- The jury must assess the evidence.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The defence argues that jurors must test each allegation against the evidence and consider whether inconsistencies, timing or surrounding circumstances leave reasonable doubt. It says the women’s accounts emerged years after the alleged events and after a 2023 television programme, and that the prosecution must prove each charge rather than rely on accusation alone.
The case against
The prosecution’s case is that delayed reporting or not resisting does not, by itself, show that an assault did not happen; people may respond to trauma, fear or other pressures in different ways. The allegations should therefore be assessed on the full evidence, including each woman’s account and any supporting material, rather than treating the absence of an earlier complaint as decisive.
Explained simply
Russell Brand is a British comedian and broadcaster who has been charged with sexual offences. The allegations concern six women and events said to have taken place between 1999 and 2009; Brand denies the charges.
The case is being heard at Southwark Crown Court, where jurors consider the evidence and decide whether the prosecution has proved the charges. The trial centres on the women’s accounts and the circumstances in which they reported what they say happened.
The outcome matters because it will determine whether Brand is found guilty of the offences charged. More broadly, the case involves how courts assess allegations of sexual offences and the evidence presented by both sides.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Russell Brand’s lawyer questions why victims did not ‘scream more’ when they were attacked as his father-in-law Bernard Gallacher accompanies him to court”.