Russell Brand's barrister reports himself to watchdog after confronting journalist outside court

RUSSELL BRAND’S BARRISTER has reported himself to his professional regulator after allegedly confronting a journalist outside court shortly after Brand had been found guilty of rape.

Brand was yesterday found guilty at Southwark Crown Court of raping a young fan he had met after one of his shows and of sexually assaulting three other women.

The Metropolitan Police began investigating Brand after allegations were reported by Channel 4′s Dispatches, The Times and The Sunday Times in September 2023.

Officers were subsequently contacted by a number of women who were not known to each other.

Sunday Times journalist Rosamund Urwin was one of the reporters involved in the 2023 report and UK media reported that outside court on Thursday, Brand’s barrister Ian Winter KC told Urwin: “You fucked it.”

According to LBC, Winter said to Urwin: “I hope you are pleased with yourself.”

She is said to have replied: “I’m pleased justice has been done.”

Winter is said to have then responded: “Well, it wasn’t. You fucked it.”

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Urwin herself told a Times and Sunday Times podcast that she was “surprised to be confronted and spoken to in that way”.

She said she introduced herself to Winter outside court after the verdicts were delivered, and that he replied to her with a “snarl” and said “I hope you’re pleased with yourself”.

“Apparently I said, but I can’t actually remember this but I’ve read it in reporting, ‘I am pleased that justice has been done’”, Urwin told the podcast.

She then told the podcast that Winter replied: “Well, it wasn’t. You fucked it.”

In a statement this afternoon, Winter said he had referred himself to the Bar Standards Board, his professional regulator.

“Having seen the ways matters have been characterised in today’s press, I consider my professional duty requires me to self-report those allegations to the Bar Standards Board so the matter can be subject to proper scrutiny,” said Winter.

“I have made such a report,” he added.

Brand meanwhile spent his first night in a cell ahead of a potentially years-long imprisonment.