Russell Brand: Council probe into fencing around star's pub amid rape and sexual assault claims

Council officials are investigating security fencing that was erected outside Russell Brand’s pub following the publication of sexual assault allegations against the comedian.

The Oxfordshire pub owned by Brand was fenced off and temporarily closed at the weekend.

Brand has been accused of rape and sexual assault after four women spoke to Channel 4's Dispatches programme and The Times and Sunday Times newspapers.

Read the latest updates on the Russell Brand allegations HERE

Brand has denied the claims, saying: "Amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks are some very serious allegations that I refute."

The day after the Dispatches episode featuring Brand's accusers was aired, the comedian's pub, the Crown Inn in Pishill was fenced off with hessian fabric.

On Tuesday, South Oxfordshire District Council said a planning enforcement investigation is in progress against Brand over the “unauthorised fencing”.

A spokesman told MailOnline: "Permission is required for the fencing that has been erected at The Crown Inn, Pishill.

"We have an open planning enforcement investigation which includes the unauthorised fencing.”

Yahoo News UK has contacted South Oxfordshire District Council for an update.

Planning permission is needed for new fences if it is next to a highway used by vehicles and is higher than one metre or if part of the site is within the cartilage of a listed building.

Brand may also need to justify why the fence was needed in the first place and could be fined if the case goes to court.

As well as fencing preventing people from getting in, there is also a sign outside the pub informing people that it is "temporarily closed".

Brand and his wife Laura Gallacher, the sister of sports pundit Kirsty Gallacher, have run the pub since 2020. The pair share two daughters, and Gallacher is currently pregnant with their third child.

Neither Brand nor Gallacher have officially commented since the documentary was aired – although Brand appeared at his sell-out show Bipolarisation on Saturday ahead of the 9pm Dispatches programme.

"I really appreciate your support, I love you, and I want to do a fantastic show for you," he said at the gig at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, after releasing a video statement refuting the claims.

"I've got a lot of things to talk to you about. There are obviously some things that I absolutely cannot talk about, and I appreciate that you will understand," he added.

It comes as Channel 4 and BBC bosses are addressing the allegations against Brand during Royal Television Society’s Cambridge Convention. They have launched internal investigations, as has production company Banijay UK, which bought Endemol in 2020.

Channel 4 chief executive Alex Mahon said she found the claims “disgusting and saddening”.

As she welcomed the attendees to the TV event, she said: “The allegations made against Russell Brand are horrendous and as a CEO of Channel 4 and as a woman in our industry, I found the behaviours described in Dispatches and The Sunday Times and The Times articles disgusting and saddening.

“The allegations of course need to be followed up further and we and the BBC and Banijay are busy investigating.”

Watch: BBC reviews Russell Brand’s time at corporation

Meanwhile, both YouTube, which hosts Brand’s channel, and podcasting platform Acast, where his Under The Skin podcast appears, said that he will not make money from advertisements on their sites and apps.

According to Companies House, he also resigned as a director of both performing arts business One Arm Bandit and filming company Mayfair Film Partnership.

The news comes after the remaining shows of Brand’s Bipolarisation tour were postponed and the Metropolitan Police said it had received a report of an alleged sexual assault in 2003 in the wake of media allegations.

Internal investigations over Brand assault claims

Both the BBC and Channel 4 have announced internal investigations following claims of sexual assault and rape against Brand, with the BBC saying it was "urgently looking into the issues raised" and Channel 4 stating it is conducting an investigation and urging anyone “who is aware of such behaviour to contact us directly.”

Brand held positions as a radio presenter at the BBC between 2006 and 2008, and as a presenter for Channel 4's Big Brother's Big Mouth from 2004 to 2006 – also appearing on the channels in various iterations in the following years.

Culture, Media and Sport Committee chairwoman Dame Caroline Dinenage wrote to broadcasters on Tuesday, including Channel 4 and the BBC, to request further details on what actions they are taking in response to the allegations.

The Dispatches investigation described a culture of fear around Brand that saw one runner claim Brand flashed his penis at her and asked for oral sex while at work. She said she was too scared to complain to TV bosses.

Another instance saw Brand accused of exposing himself and urinating in a bottle during a radio show in front of a guest and staff members.

Charity and talent agency cut ties with Brand

A women's charity and a talent agency have severed ties with the comedian in the wake of the assault and rape allegations.

Agency Tavistock Wood and the Trevi Women & Children’s Charity both made the announcements after the Dispatches show was aired on Saturday evening.

Tavistock Wood said: “Russell Brand categorically and vehemently denied the allegation made in 2020, but we now believe we were horribly misled by him. TW has terminated all professional ties to Brand.”

Meanwhile the charity detailed its decision in an Instagram post, writing: "We have ended our association with Russell Brand and the Stay Free Foundation.

"As a charity whose values put women's voices at the heart of what we do, we always prioritise supporting women affected by violence and abuse and empower them to live without violence and fear."

Another charity supported by Brand's Stay Free foundation, which focuses on addiction, said: "We can’t make an opinion on what has come out right now. We just know him for the good that he does now.”

Read more

• Entertainment industry has questions to answer over Russell Brand allegations, says cabinet minister (The Yorkshire Post)

• From the Sachsgate scandal to conspiracy controversies: A timeline of Russell Brand’s life and career (The Independent)

• Russell Brand: In Plain Sight review – Dispatches film serves as grim indictment of celebrity power (The Independent)