Met cops probe sex assault claim against Russell Brand as woman comes forward to report 2003 Soho attack – as star’s ‘Bipolarisation’ tour is postponed

The Metropolitan Police say they are investigating a report of a sexual assault in Soho in 2003 after allegations were made against Russell Brand after the comedian suspended the remaining dates of his final tour.

On Saturday, The Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches reported allegations of abusive and predatory behavior including rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse allegedly committed by the presenter between 2006 and 2013.

Brand ‘absolutely’ denies the allegations and insists that all his relationships have been consensual. As expected, he took the stage on Saturday for his bipolarization tour.

But on Monday the tour’s promoters confirmed the remaining dates in Windsor, Plymouth and Wolverhampton had been postponed.

They said in a statement: ‘We are postponing the few remaining fundraisers for addiction charities, we don’t like doing it but we know you will understand.’

The alleged assault in Soho happened three years before the four assaults Brand was accused of between 2006 and 2013.

A Met spokesperson said: ‘On Sunday 17 September the Met received a report of a sexual assault alleged to have occurred in Soho, central London in 2003.

‘Officers are in contact with the woman and will support her.

‘We first spoke to The Sunday Times on Saturday 16 September and have since taken further steps with The Sunday Times and Channel 4 to ensure that anyone who believes they have been the victim of a sexual offense knows how to report it to the police. Police.

‘We continue to encourage anyone who believes they have been a victim of a sexual crime, no matter how long ago, to contact us.’

The Bipolarization tour was touted as a show that would “draw conclusions from mass confusion by interrogating the live audience.”

But the Theater Royal Windsor has removed all mention of the tour from its website.

A statement from theater management said: ‘Theatre Royal Windsor will offer ticket refunds in accordance with our terms and conditions of sale.’

Plymouth Pavilions in Devon also said management were ‘in discussions with tour promoters’ about the comedian’s planned performance at the venue on Friday evening.

A statement from the location, reported by the isaid: ‘All tickets will be refunded directly from the point of purchase, tickets purchased from The Ticket Store will be automatically refunded.’

The Times and Sunday Times claim that ‘several women’ made secret allegations about Brand’s behavior in the early 2000s, in the wake of their joint investigation with Channel 4 published on Saturday.

The latest allegations – which the newspaper says have not been investigated but are now being ‘rigorously monitored’ – follow accusations from four women, including one who claims she was sexually assaulted by Brand during a three-month relationship with him when she was 16. and still at school.

The BBC is also now facing ‘urgent questions’ after it was claimed that 48-year-old Brand used the car service provided by the company to pick up the girl from school.

Former colleagues who had worked with him have also made lurid claims about his behaviour, including acting as ‘his pimps’ to pass messages to attractive members of the public.

It comes as both BBC and Channel 4 have launched internal investigations into separate allegations of predatory behavior by Brand towards staff and the public during his time in service.

Channel 4 has since removed all programs linked to Brand from its website, including episodes of The Great British Bake Off and Big Brother’s Big Mouth in which he appeared, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Netflix has since been urged to remove its comedy special, titled Re:Birth, from its streaming catalog.

The maverick actor and stand-up comedian has strongly denied all allegations and blamed the ‘mainstream media’ for the ‘litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks’.

BBC chiefs tried to investigate Brand last night after the comedian was accused of rape.

Their investigation was announced minutes before Scotland Yard stepped up the pressure by announcing that detectives would like to speak to the comedian’s alleged victims.

Brand, a former BBC and Channel 4 star, is facing startling claims from women of sexual violence, abuse and predatory behavior – including one who was a 16-year-old schoolgirl.

But claims from one businesswoman – who claimed Brand raped her when she refused a threesome – and another who said she was 16 when he strangled her during a sex act sparked a firestorm yesterday.

Among the complaints raised in the investigation were allegations from a woman, named Alice to protect her identity, who claims she was sexually abused by Brand as a 16-year-old.

She claims he was ‘preoccupied’ with her being ‘innocent and pure’ and often called her ‘The Child’.

Alice described his behavior towards her as “grooming”, as Brand allegedly gave her scripts on how to trick her parents into allowing her to visit him. She also claimed that he would send his ‘BBC car’ to her high school to pick her up.

“The first time I used it, he told me he was booked to take him to his radio show, but he had a friend who took him instead, so I had to use that car,” she said. The times.

She claimed that the driver once took her from Brand’s house to her grandmother’s house and that the same car “picked me up from school” on another occasion.

Alice added: ‘It was the same car… I knew it was a BBC car.’

The BBC did not initially launch an investigation, but amid growing outrage it changed its position last night and a spokesperson said it was ‘urgently investigating the issues’.

In a statement, a BBC spokesperson said: ‘The documentary and associated reports contain serious allegations spanning a number of years.

‘Russell Brand worked on BBC radio programs between 2006 and 2008 and we are urgently investigating the issues raised.’

The broadcaster yesterday launched an internal investigation into what was known about Brand’s alleged conduct following claims that at least one senior executive was aware of complaints against the comedian and had apparently dismissed them.