Jury begins deliberations in Russell Brand rape and sexual assault trial
The jury in Russell Brand's month-long rape and sexual assault trial has begun deliberations, with the judge's step-by-step route to verdict guiding decisions on charges Brand denies.
How it was covered
- Sky News was the only channel found covering it, concentrating on courtroom process, verdict timing and Brand's demeanour.
- Channel 5, BBC News, BBC One, BBC Two, Channel 4, GB News and ITV: not found in tracked broadcasts.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
Sky News reported that the jury in Russell Brand's month-long rape and sexual assault trial began deliberations within half an hour of its broadcast. Brand denies all the charges, which the channel said span a decade of his show business career.
The channel described a complicated case with a large amount of evidence. Its correspondents said the jury had been given a step-by-step route to verdict for each count, requiring jurors to answer a series of questions before reaching a decision. The judge had told them at an earlier stage that verdicts could all be the same or could differ from count to count, Sky News reported.
Sky News gave inconsistent descriptions of the number of counts. Katie Spencer listed three counts of alleged rape, three of sexual assault and three of attempted indecent assault, a total of nine. Martin Brunt later referred to seven charges. Brand denies all of them.
Martin Brunt, a crime commentator for Sky News, said it was impossible to predict how long the jury would take. He expected days rather than weeks, saying he did not think the judge would let deliberations run for weeks. He also said a return to court would not necessarily mean all verdicts were in, because the jury could reach some verdicts, ask the judge a question or continue deliberating on other counts.
Sky News reported that the judge had told the jury it was expected to deliver a unanimous verdict. He also said verdicts could all be the same or could differ from count to count. The judge summarised the evidence rather than going through it all, and told jurors to ignore his summary if they disagreed with it.
Katie Spencer, Sky News's arts and entertainment correspondent, said Brand had remained still and upright in court, listening intently and mostly looking at the judge. She said that when the jury was sent out at 2.47 he watched every juror as they left. Sky News said everyone involved was now waiting at Southwark Crown Court for the jury to return.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Reported by all 2 channels | ||
| Russell Brand denies the charges, which cover a decade of his entertainment career. | Reported by BBC One | |
| Only on one channel | ||
| The jury in Russell Brand's rape and sexual assault trial started deliberating. | Not reported by BBC One | |
| The jury received step-by-step guidance on how to reach a verdict on each count. | Not reported by BBC One | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
Sky News stayed close to the courtroom process, focusing on the judge's route to verdict, the likely length of deliberations and the possibility of partial verdicts. Its correspondents also noted Russell Brand's demeanour as the jury left and stressed that any return to court might not mean all verdicts were in.
- “Now within the past half an hour, the jury have begun their deliberations in the month-long rape and sexual assault trial of Russell Brand.”
- “They could be days and days and days. I don't think they'll be weeks”
- “When the jury was sent out at 2.47 I did just see a micro movement of him looking towards the jury”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.