Nandy calls Russell Brand conviction a 'wake-up call' for media

UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy has said that Russell Brand's conviction for rape and sexual assault must be a "wake-up call" to the media world and beyond. She described the case as a "defining moment for our country".

Brand was found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the public body that brings criminal cases to court. The offences were non-recent and were committed against four women. Brand was 51 at the time of his conviction, and the case was heard over a four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court. The CPS had also authorised two further charges of rape against him in December 2025.

Nandy called on employers to protect vulnerable whistleblowers, meaning people who raise concerns about wrongdoing at work, and to make sure those concerns are taken seriously. She also urged media companies to sign up to the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority, a standards body for the creative industries. That body has set up an online portal where workers can report concerns about harassment and abuse.

Jack Bayles, head of comedy at the independent production company Various Artists Limited (VAL), has been asked to step back from the company while it considers the verdict and the events surrounding Brand's trial. According to the Guardian, Bayles has also been dropped from current projects understood to include The Choir, by James Corden and Ruth Jones, and a new series of the BBC's Such Brave Girls.

The dispute over Brand's conduct has a longer history in British broadcasting. The BBC apologised after a report into Brand's behaviour, and Nandy, commenting on the complaints raised in that review, described them as horrendous and said staff had felt unable to raise them.