Warning: This article contains discussion of rape and sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.
Russell Brand’s barrister has responded after the celebrity comic was found guilty of four offences at Crown Court earlier today.
Ian Winter KC, who represented the 51-year-old in the case, launched a foul-mouthed tirade at Sunday Times journalist Rosamund Urwin, following her role in first bringing the allegations to light.
In the end Brand was found guilty of raping a young fan he met after one of his Hammersmith Apollo shows in 2009, as well as also being found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman at a Soho bar in 2004.
The other guilty charges include a sexual assault in 2004 or 2005 at Choice FM, and of sexually assaulting a woman working on a project at Channel 4 in 2009.
Following the verdict, Winter clashed with Urwin outside the court.
Mr Winter said to the journalist: “I hope you are pleased with yourself”.
She was heard replying: “I’m pleased justice has been done”.
Mr Winter responded: “Well, it wasn’t. You f***ed it.”
He then added: “Congratulations.”
Winter had also lamented the media’s role in the case during the trial itself, insisting that journalists such as Urwin had contributed towards a ‘poisoning of the well’.
Speaking during the closing moments of his trial, Brand’s legal team acknowledged that acting like a ‘crazy idiot’ towards women was not a crime.
“It is not criminal to treat women unkindly before, during or after sex,” he told the court. “It is not, I am afraid, criminal to be disrespectful or rude or to act like a crazy idiot.
“If there is consent it is lawful.
“What matters is [Brand] had an immense amount of sex and none of it was unlawful,” Winter told jurors.
However, the judge Mr Justice Bennathan and the jury clearly disagreed as he was found guilty on four counts, and he has now been remanded into custody as he awaits a sentence.
More to follow.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact the Rape Crisis England and Wales helpline on 0808 500 222, available 24/7. If you are currently in danger or need urgent medical attention, you should call 999.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivors Trust for free on 08088 010 818, available 10am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-3pm and 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-3pm on Fridays, 10am-12.30pm on Saturdays and 6pm-8pm on Sundays.
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