Russell Brand has sent a defiant message of innocence to supporters from prison, telling them: “As you know, I am not guilty.”
Despite being convicted by a jury of rape and three sexual assaults, the comedian continues to deny the offences while serving his sentence.
Laura Gallacher continued the couple’s Sunday Service YouTube broadcast, reading from the Bible before introducing footage recorded during Brand’s three-week trial.
Gallacher, the daughter of Ryder Cup-winning golfer Bernard Gallacher, told viewers: “Russell has asked me to read something to you.”
The message comes as her husband completes the first week of his 10-and-a-half-year prison sentence.
Reading from the conservatory of their home in Henley-on-Thames, she said: “Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, God bless you for your support.
“As you know, I am not guilty of the offences for which I have been jailed, so something strange is happening.”
Brand was transferred from HMP Wandsworth to Category C HMP Littlehey in Cambridgeshire, it emerged this week.
Laura Gallacher continued the couple’s Sunday Service YouTube broadcast by reading a letter from her husband
The programme also featured a pre-recorded segment involving Russell Brand
Gallacher continued: “The good news is that Christ is with us when we choose him, and I do.
“I am incarcerated in HMP Littlehey — little as in small, and hey as in hey, I’m in the biggest sex offenders’ prison in Europe.
“The good news is that I have already seen that the staff here are strong, kind and dedicated.
“As for my fellow prisoners, I now understand that I am in no position to judge anyone.
“I do not know which other men here are not guilty. Those who are guilty are people Christ died to save, just like you and me. Let us love, pray for and forgive one another, as God forgave us.”
Gallacher became emotional as she read the closing words: “Please support my treasured wife and family. I feel your prayers. Your brother in Christ, Russell.”
She opened the programme by saying she wanted to “continue the good work that was being established here in this Sunday service community, something very, very close to mine and Russell’s heart”.
“It may look different, but the ambitions are very much the same. We trust God, his plan and everything he is doing right now,” she added.
“Even though it is painful, and it will obviously take some getting used to for me to sit here without my companion and my person beside me, I want to continue and I am grateful for the support.”
Gallacher said she remained in contact with her husband, adding: “He’s okay, and he’s praying.”
The British comedian, actor, podcaster and media personality has completed the first week of his 10-and-a-half-year prison sentence
The broadcast also included a pre-recorded segment featuring Brand and his wife.
In the footage, Brand briefly referred to the trial, which was taking place at the time.
He said: “Obviously, we’re in the middle of a trial.
“We do not really follow the coverage, but someone showed me some of it the other day from people who were broadly supportive. I know that is not generally how it has been reported in the mainstream media, and you can draw your own conclusions from that.
“What I will say is that it is remarkable to watch other people’s coverage because they discuss it as though it were a football match.”
Brand later appeared to joke about the trial and the strain it had placed on the couple’s marriage.
After Gallacher mentioned that she never removed the screen lock from her phone, Brand replied: “It’s a miracle I’m able to put up with you, because you put a screen lock on your phone that means we can’t rotate it into landscape.
“Whereas I have never done anything that has put any pressure on our marriage.”
“I’m a nice guy,” he declared, before his wife quickly changed the subject.
Brand was moved to Category C HMP Littlehey on Friday.
The prison houses male sex offenders and provides activities including yoga, choir and origami classes.
He had initially been taken to Category B HMP Wandsworth in south-west London, where he was held in solitary confinement.
The comedian was reportedly transferred in a secret operation on Friday to Category C HMP Littlehey near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
Authorities are understood to have considered transferring Brand to HMP Wakefield, known as “Monster Mansion”, where Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins and child killer Kyle Bevan were murdered by fellow inmates last year.
However, the West Yorkshire prison was reportedly considered too dangerous for Brand, who is also facing fresh allegations of sexual offences.
The transfer followed a report in The Mail on Sunday that Brand had been branded “a fake and a fraud” by a fellow Christian prisoner assigned to help him settle into jail.
Hi, I’m Alex Matthews, Editor of The Crime Desk.
Russell Brand has been found guilty of rape and three sexual assaults. Our reporters Caroline Cheetham and Liz Hull were in court every day and later spoke to Detective Inspector Laura Nelson, who explained why the women who accused Brand in the documentary were not involved in his rape trial.
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The Christian “listener”, who held prayer sessions with Brand before and after his sentencing last week, has questioned the comedian’s religious convictions and said he does not genuinely believe he has found God.
He believes the former atheist and one-time Buddhist is using Christianity as a shield against accusations of sexual wrongdoing and to build support for an appeal.
The prisoner is also said to be angered by Brand’s lack of remorse. Brand was frequently seen holding a Bible during his trial and has reportedly been walking around the prison attempting to preach to anyone willing to listen.
The listener is regularly assigned to help new inmates settle in on Wandsworth’s induction wing. He initially prayed with Brand, who was said to have “latched on to him”.
However, the experienced prisoner, described as “nobody’s fool”, soon began to doubt the sincerity of Brand’s faith.
He told friends that he confronted the comedian, saying: “It’s an insult to our religion, and it’s terrible that he has used Christ as a cover-up for his sins.”
He also reportedly said Brand had claimed he was “royally stitched up by the Establishment and the truth will prevail”, while telling inmates he would appeal his convictions for rape and sexual assault.
“Brand is full of s***,” he said. “He deserves no sympathy.” Meanwhile, the comedian, who faces a number of new allegations, has reportedly devised a “secret” way to communicate with the outside world through his X account.
He is allegedly planning to send messages out of prison by misusing an official, government-endorsed communications service that allows inmates to keep in contact with family and friends.
A source told The Mail on Sunday that Brand intends to use the “eMates Email a Prisoner” service to send messages to members of his team through other inmates. His team would then post the messages on his behalf to his 10.1 million X followers.
Prisoners are prohibited from accessing social media accounts such as X themselves.
Brand was sentenced to 10-and-a-half years in prison on Monday afternoon.
He is expected to serve two-thirds of the sentence before being released on licence.
He will remain on the sex offenders’ register for life.
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