A second police force has opened an investigation into claims against Russell Brand.
According to the Mail Online:
After Scotland Yard launched a criminal probe, Thames Valley Police confirmed yesterday it was investigating ‘information in relation to the harassment and stalking allegations’ made by a woman.
In the past two weeks, Brand has faced serious accusations from a series of women.
He was accused of one rape and sexual assault when four women made allegations to the Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches programme, and then a slew of further claims emerged as women told their stories to newspapers and the BBC.
At least ten have made public claims so far.
The comedian, 48, has strenuously denied wrongdoing, and says he has evidence to refute allegations. He has called the claims a conspiracy by the ‘mainstream media’.
In the latest allegation, the Mail has seen police logs claiming that the woman accused him of being a ‘sexual predator’.
She lived near Brand and became friendly with him in 2015, before they each accused the other of harassment.
Police are understood to have looked into her claims previously, and dismissed them. Now officers are re-examining the case.
Yesterday, Thames Valley Police said it had been contacted by the woman last week ‘with new information in relation to the harassment and stalking allegations’.
It added: ‘This information is being investigated, as such it would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing investigation.’
Thames Valley Police covers Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, where Brand – now a self-styled lifestyle and political guru – lives with his family.
He moved to the area in 2015 and bought The Crown pub in nearby village Pishill in 2020.
The pub went ‘into lockdown’ when the allegations emerged, with locals reporting that the venue was sealed by fencing and had security guards inside and out.
But Brand was forced to remove the fencing when South Oxfordshire District Council said it was ‘unauthorised’ and launched a planning enforcement investigation.
Brand was contacted for comment.
