Russell Brand ‘secretly moved’ to plush new jail with ‘yoga and origami classes’
Russell Brand has reportedly been transferred to a different prison only days after beginning a sentence of more than 10 years for rape and sexual assault.
The 51-year-old entertainer is said to have been moved in a discreet operation to HMP Littlehey in Cambridgeshire, a Category C facility that houses male sexual offenders. The prison offers a range of activities, including football, bowls, yoga, choir sessions, quizzes, board games and origami classes.
Brand was initially held at HMP Wandsworth, reportedly in a segregated punishment unit because of concerns that his public profile and the nature of his convictions could make him a target. He had been assessed for HMP Wakefield, but officials are understood to have decided that the environment posed too great a risk to his safety.
According to reports, Brand was transported to Littlehey in a secure prison van and taken to a cell in the facility’s E Wing, where new arrivals typically spend their first weeks. He is not believed to have had contact with other prisoners since arriving.
The transfer has prompted debate over whether the decision amounts to preferential treatment. Former prison officials have suggested that Brand’s risk assessment would have considered his celebrity status, the offences for which he was convicted and the possibility of attacks from other inmates.
Others have argued that placing him in a higher-security prison could create significant risks for both Brand and prison staff. Littlehey houses more than 1,000 inmates and provides access to recreational facilities, including an astroturf pitch used for inter-wing football matches.
Brand’s wife is expected to be permitted weekly visits, although the prison is a considerable distance from the couple’s home in Oxfordshire.
At sentencing, the judge described Brand as a “sexual predator” and criticised what was characterised as a pattern of dishonesty and arrogance. The court heard allegations relating to four women and incidents spanning from 2004 to 2009.
Brand received individual sentences for rape and three sexual assaults. The terms are being served concurrently, resulting in an overall sentence of 10 years and six months. The sentence was reduced by one year after the court took mitigating circumstances and his lack of significant previous convictions into account.
The reported move means Brand will serve his sentence in a prison designed for offenders assessed as requiring less restrictive conditions than those in Category B establishments, while officials continue to manage the security concerns surrounding his high-profile case.
