Ed Miliband FINALLY responds to actor’s rape conviction after cosying up to disgraced comedian

Prior to his conviction, the Foreign Secretary was interviewed by Brand while serving as leader of the Labour Party in the run up to the 2015 General Election.

Mr Miliband had not publicly commented on his conviction over the past week, but he broke his silence today, describing Brand’s crimes to Channel 4 as “horrific”.

He continued: “All of my sympathies are with the victims of Russell Brand. And of course, there are further allegations about him as well as the crimes he has been convicted of.”

Addressing his past interview with the comedian, the Foreign Secretary said if “I had known then what has come to light, I would, as I’ve said before, never have done that interview.

“As I’ve said before, I deeply regret doing it.”

Following the 2015 interview, Brand said he would be voting for Mr Miliband, declaring: “This bloke will listen to us”.

The Foreign Secretary had previously expressed regret over the meeting after allegations of the 51-year-old’s behaviour emerged in 2023.

He said he had not been aware of them at the time, adding: “I wouldn’t have done that interview and I regret doing it.”

The Prime Minister has also faced questions over his previous association with Brand after an old social media post resurfaced.

In 2014, the comedian faced media backlash over his housing arrangements, with Brand threatening to sue The Sun and donate any compensation to victims of the Hillsborough disaster.

At the time, Mr Burnam, who has long supported Hisborough survivors, said it was “depressing to see media mission to discredit someone who stops playing their game”, before telling Brand to “keep going”.

When asked by the BBC about the 12-year-old post last week, the Prime Minister said: “All I can say is I had no idea of the full extent of what he was doing or what he went on to do.”

He added: “His (Brand’s) crimes are horrific – he’s rightly been held to account, justice for the victims and that is the right course that’s been taken here.

“It’s not always the case that people know everything about people in public life, but what is important is that where there is wrongdoing it is exposed.

“Credit to the victims, huge credit, the courage that it’s taken, but also the journalists who’ve exposed this.”

Mr Miliband’s remarks come after the Metropolitan Police confirmed it had been contacted by “several people” during Brand’s trial.

The force had already confirmed two further rape allegations against the 51-year-old are being investigated.

A Met spokesman yesterday said: “Several people have contacted the investigation team during and since the trial to provide information or report a potential criminal allegation.

“Detectives are assessing this information as part of their ongoing enquiries.”

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