Brand's barrister tells jurors promiscuity is lawful as closing speeches begin

The defence closing speech

Ian Winter KC, Russell Brand's barrister, opened the defence closing speech at Southwark Crown Court on Monday, 2 November. Brand, 51, denies seven charges: three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of attempted indecent assault. Six women make the allegations, which span 1999 to 2009 and include incidents in a hotel room, at Brand's London home, in workplaces and in a Soho bar toilet. Winter told jurors that the comedian is not a "psychopath who rapes people and thinks it's normal" and that he respects it when a woman says no. He questioned why only three of the many women Brand had sex with said they did not consent to the sexual acts described.

“Living a highly promiscuous life is entirely lawful however morally distasteful you may find it.”

Winter argued that the real question for jurors was whether they could be sure Brand raped just three of the women who had voluntarily had sex with him.

Claims about the 2023 reporting

Winter said allegations about Brand's sexual conduct in 2023 had "poisoned the wells" of justice. He pointed to reporting in a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary and in Times and Sunday Times stories, which he said prompted the women to come forward with accusations afterwards. He told jurors the complainants had not made an "independent decision" to speak out, and he referred to "monstrous delays" before the women went to police. Winter also said the 2023 allegations had a "truly devastating effect" on Brand, recalling Brand's account of being barred from visiting his baby son during open heart surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital. These are the defence's own claims, put to the jury in closing.

The prosecution case

Riel Karmy-Jones KC gave the prosecution's closing speech on Friday, 30 October. She denied that the 2023 reporting had left the six women so affected that they invented or reshaped their encounters with the comedian. Telling jurors that Brand saw women as disposable, she said:

“Women as a whole were disposable; they didn't matter to him.”

Karmy-Jones told the jury that the six complainants' accounts were the real truth, not an invented or reimagined one, and asked jurors to find him guilty on all counts.

Family in the gallery

Bernard Gallacher, the retired Ryder Cup-winning golfer and Brand's father-in-law, sat beside his daughter Laura in the public gallery as Winter began his speech. Gallacher, 77, played in eight Ryder Cups and captained the European team three times. Brand's wife attended the court on several occasions and on Thursday gave evidence describing him as "caring" and "kind". She told the court she had been "very aware" of his promiscuity when the couple split in summer 2007. The couple got back together in 2015, married in 2017 and now share three children, the court heard.

What comes next

Gallacher sat at the back of the courtroom while Winter spoke, and the court broke for lunch before the speech was due to resume after 2pm. Brand arrived at court with his wife and entourage, wearing a black wool jacket over a grey suit and a long tie. By Friday, 30 October, the proceedings had reached the end of their third week. The trial is set to conclude this week, and jurors must reach a unanimous verdict on each count.