Key facts
- Powell said she was shocked at some of what took place in the courtroom and called the reading depressing.
- Brand's barrister, Ian Winter KC, argued Brand must be innocent because victims did not resist, scream or try to leave.
- In mitigation, Winter described the anal rape of a 21-year-old woman as a short and momentary failure of consent.
- Powell said she did not understand the full extent of Brand's conduct already public, such as in his autobiography.
- Powell said many, from Hollywood to the BBC, gave Brand a powerful platform.
Lucy Powell, the UK education secretary and Labour's deputy leader, said on November 10, 2026 that she found the cross-examination of Russell Brand's victims "incredibly sort of depressing" and believed the courts had "long gone past that sort of culture." She spoke on LBC a day after Brand was jailed for 10-and-a-half years for raping a woman and sexually assaulting three others, including at their workplaces.
Powell was asked about Brand's defense, in which his barrister, Ian Winter KC, suggested Brand must be innocent because none of his victims had "resisted or screamed or even tried to leave." In mitigation, Winter said the anal rape of a 21-year-old woman was a "short and momentary failure" where Brand "did not respect her consent." Powell said she had been "shocked" at some of what took place in the courtroom and praised the judge's words.
At sentencing, Mr Justice Bennathan criticized Brand because the women had been subject to additional suffering because of the conduct in court "on your instructions." He said: "Whatever women wear, wherever they go, whatever they drink, they retain the right to say no and demand justice in the criminal courts when sexual predators like you, Mr Brand, act without their consent."
Powell said the government had taken steps in guidance to challenge myths around rape and victim-blaming, but "a lot more needs to be done." She also told Sky News that she and Ed Miliband regretted his 2015 interview with Brand, saying that had anyone known Brand was a sexual predator, those involved in promoting him would "look back and really regret that." She said she had not understood the full extent of his sexual conduct already in the public domain, such as in his autobiography.