Is Laura Gallacher behind campaign to free her husband? Fury erupts as petition hits 15k signatures

The petition, hosted on change.org, is titled “Justice for Russell Brand” and calls for his right to challenge the convictions through lawful appeal procedures to be “fully respected.” Within moments of it being shared on X, several social media users condemned its publication.

The creator of the petition is credited as “Jane Doe”, although speculation on social media has suggested Brand’s wife, Laura Gallacher, may have played a role given the access to Brand’s personal X account.

However, its organisers describe themselves as “an independent community of supporters from around the world who believe that justice must always be fair, transparent and grounded in the rule of law.”

The campaign explicitly states it is “not affiliated with or authorised by Russell Brand or his legal representatives.”

GB News has contacted the petition’s creators as well as Brand’s home office for comment.

Among the demands laid out in the petition are making sure Brand has access to legal advice, independent scrutiny of any appeal grounds, transparency in the judicial process, and accountability through proper legal channels.

Acknowledging the seriousness of the offences of which Brand was found guilty, the petition’s organisers still state that “the right to appeal is a fundamental safeguard of justice.”

It also urges supporters to engage in “peaceful advocacy, informed discussion and respect for the law”.

Organisers also emphasised that they do not condone harassment or interference with witnesses or court proceedings.

The decision to share the petition via his active X account comes after Meta decided to permanently delete Brand’s Instagram and Facebook accounts following his conviction.

Whoever has been left in charge of Brand’s X account acknowledged Meta’s decision in a critical social media update.

“There never was a Russell Brand, according to Meta. Thank God for Elon Musk,” the post read, closing with the words: “Stay tuned.”

Screengrabs from Meta platforms showing the erasure of Brand’s profile were attached to the post.

X owner Elon Musk has been a vocal ally of Brand since allegations of sexual offences first surfaced in 2023.

Before Monday’s sentencing, Mr Musk shared a graphic placing quotation marks around Brand’s convictions and suggesting he faced “potential life in jail,” captioning it with the single word: “Unjust.”

The 51-year-old Brand is currently behind bars at HMP Wandsworth.

The former Radio 2 disc jockey was found guilty at Southwark Crown Court of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, with the offences committed between 2004 and 2009 during his ascent to celebrity as a television and radio presenter.

On Monday, he received a sentence of 10 years and six months in prison. The sentencing judge, Mr Justice Bennathan, denounced Brand’s “staggering arrogance” and described him as a sexual predator who had exploited his growing status to target women.

Brand displayed no visible reaction as the sentence was delivered, though he reportedly reassured his wife, Laura Gallacher, with the words “we’ll be okay” before being led to the cells.

Brand is expected to serve two-thirds of his term before becoming eligible for release on licence and will be placed on the sex offenders’ register permanently.