𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Prime Minister Andy Burnham praised the bravery of Russell Brand’s victims as he condemned the comedian’s “horrifying” actions. Brand faces a lengthy jail term after being convicted of raping one of his fans and sexually assaulting three women during his showbiz heyday.

Mr Burnham told Times Radio: “It’s horrifying what Russell Brand has done. And I’d firstly like to praise the bravery of the women, the victims in the case, who’ve come forward and had the courage to speak out.

“But yes, the journalists too, who supported those who had been abused by Russell Brand and worse. So all of them deserve our praise for having that courage to stand forward.”

On Thursday, former comedian Brand was convicted of rape and sexual assault, and is now expected to face a substantial prison sentence when he appears for sentencing on Monday. A jury found the entertainer guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, following a four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court in London.

Brand, 51, was found not guilty of two other counts of rape, and one count of attempted indecent assault. The jury deliberated for eight-and-a-half hours.

The verdict marked a massive fall from grace for the entertainer and author who had long been a favourite of the Left during his career. In 2014, Andy Burnham, then shadow health secretary, gushed over the comedian using his celebrity status to “help others”.

When current Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband was leading the Labour Party fighting the 2015 election campaign he agreed to a cosy interview with the now disgraced comedian in Brand’s £2 million London penthouse.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said the force is encouraging anybody else to come forward if there are any other allegations after Russell Brand was convicted of raping one of his fans and sexually assaulting three women.

Sir Mark told Times Radio: “Every case like this depends on brave victim survivors who are prepared to step forward and tell their story to police officers and tell their story to a court when you’ve had something so intrusive and awful happen that that really shows real bravery and determination, and you have to admire that.

“I’m proud of our officers and the support they’ve offered them and the case they’ve built. They’ve spoken to 100 witnesses. They’ve taken 400 statements. It’s a sizeable investigation.

“As you’ve heard, there’s two more rape allegations that we’re looking at. We’re encouraging anybody else to come forward if there’s any other allegations.

“The wider point I would make: this looks at one hand it’s a celebrity, but most sex offending is where someone of power exploits that with someone who is less powerful themselves.

“It might be an uncle, it might be a teacher, it might be a vicar. Could be a whole range of different situations. And what cases like this show is, it doesn’t matter how powerful the person is, we will support you, and we will try and bring down the person who did something ghastly to you.”

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