Jeremy Corbyn and Len McCluskey have dropped a contribution by Russell Brand from their forthcoming poetry book after allegations of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse were made about the comedian turned YouTube personality.
Brand, 48, was the subject of a four-year investigation carried out jointly by the Times, Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches programme, which uncovered how the TV presenter allegedly carried out a series of sexual offences at the height of his fame between 2006 and 2013.
In a video shared on his YouTube Channel before the allegations were published, Brand, who previously presented programmes on Channel 4 and BBC radio, strenuously denied the claims, which he labelled “astonishing” and “rather baroque”.
The comedian acknowledged his “very promiscuous” past and stressed that “during that time of promiscuity, the relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual.”
