A second British police force is looking into sexual offences allegedly committed by actor and comedian Russell Brand, British media reported on October 2, 2023. File
| Photo Credit: AP
UK police on Monday said they were investigating new information regarding harassment and stalking claims made by a woman, with British media reporting comedian Russell Brand was the target of the probe.
The comedian and actor is already facing a Metropolitan Police investigation in the wake of a joint investigation by The Times, Sunday Times and Channel 4, which published claims from four women of rape, sexual assaults and emotional abuse.
A second police force which covers an area west of London has now said it is looking into fresh information.
“Thames Valley Police in the past two weeks received new information in relation to the harassment and stalking allegations dating back to 2018,” the force said in a statement.
“This information is being investigated; as such it would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing investigation,” it said. The force did not confirm the subject of its investigation.
The BBC and Daily Mail said the woman reported allegations against Brand to Thames Valley Police between 2018 and 2022, but no further action was taken.
Brand had also accused the woman of harassing him in 2017, according to the BBC.
Last month, the Metropolitan Police said it had “received a report of a sexual assault which was alleged to have taken place in Soho in central London in 2003.”
Brand, 48, has denied the The Times, Sunday Times and Channel 4 allegations of the incidents, which are said to have taken place between 2006 and 2013.
He maintained that his relationships had always been “consensual”, even during a period when he admitted being “very, very promiscuous”.
Brand’s former employers the BBC and Channel 4 as well as a production company have opened investigations into the claims.
According to the newspapers and the documentary, Brand allegedly raped one woman in his Los Angeles home.
Another claims that he assaulted her during a three-month relationship when she was 16 and still at school.
Brand became known internationally as the former husband of pop star Katy Perry after forging a career as a stand-up comedian with near-the-knuckle routines, often about drugs and sex.
