Convicted rapist Russell Brand has been transferred to a Category C prison offering yoga and choir sessions, just days after beginning a ten-and-a-half-year sentence.
The comedian was moved on Friday to HMP Littlehey, near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, according to reports.
The prison houses male sex offenders and provides a range of activities, including yoga, choir and origami classes.
Facilities also include an astroturf football pitch, two gyms, sports halls and an indoor bowls area.
Brand’s transfer follows his sentencing at Southwark Crown Court on Monday, after he was convicted of rape and three sexual assaults.
The 51-year-old had initially been held at Category B HMP Wandsworth in south-west London, where he was placed in solitary confinement.
Officials are understood to have considered sending Brand to HMP Wakefield, nicknamed ‘Monster Mansion’. The West Yorkshire prison was reportedly the site where Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins and child killer Kyle Bevan were murdered by fellow inmates last year.
However, the jail was said to have been judged too risky for Brand, who is also facing further allegations of sexual offences.
The move comes as The Mail on Sunday reports that Brand was branded a ‘fake and a fraud’ by a fellow Christian prisoner who had been assigned to help him adjust to life behind bars.
British comedian, actor, podcaster and media personality Russell Brand arrives at Southwark Crown Court during his trial
The comedian was reportedly transferred in a secret operation on Friday to Category C HMP Littlehey near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
Brand is being held alone on E Wing at HMP Littlehey and has yet to mix with other prisoners, The Sun on Sunday reported.
A source told the newspaper that Brand requested additional blankets on his first night. He has reportedly been placed in a single cell and given enhanced security, with extra officers assigned to monitor him.
‘Brand looked like he was s***ing himself as he was led to his cell,’ the source said.
Former prison governor Vanessa Frake said she was ‘flabbergasted’ by the decision, pointing to Brand’s ‘substantial sentence’ and the possibility of further convictions.
Frake said officials would have considered Brand’s high public profile, the nature of his convictions and the risk of attacks against him when carrying out a security assessment.
‘But I am surprised they have downgraded him to a Category C already,’ she said. ‘I’d have thought Category B would have been more appropriate.’
Former Metropolitan Police detective Mick Neville said the Prison Service had evidently concluded that placing Brand in ‘Monster Mansion’ would pose a serious threat to his safety and require substantial resources to protect him.
The transfer was reported as Brand faced allegations from another inmate that he was pretending to have embraced Christianity, alongside claims that he had devised a secret way to communicate with supporters through his X account from prison.
The Christian ‘listener’, who held prayer sessions with Brand before and after his sentencing last week, has questioned the sincerity of the comedian’s religious conversion.
Brand prays with his wife, Laura Gallacher, during a YouTube broadcast in April
The inmate reportedly believes the former atheist and one-time Buddhist is using Christianity to deflect attention from his sex offences and build support for an appeal.
He is also said to be angry that Brand, who was frequently seen holding a Bible during his trial, has shown no remorse and has been walking around ‘trying to preach to anyone who will listen to his ramblings’.
Hi, I’m Alex Matthews, Editor of The Crime Desk.
Russell Brand has been found guilty of rape and three sexual assaults, while our reporters Caroline Cheetham and Liz Hull attended every day of the trial. They spoke with Detective Inspector Laura Nelson about why the women who accused Brand in the documentary were not involved in the rape trial.
The listener, who regularly helps new inmates settle in on Wandsworth’s induction wing, initially prayed with Brand, who was said to have ‘latched on to him’.
But the experienced prisoner, described as ‘nobody’s fool’, soon began to question whether Brand’s faith was genuine.
He reportedly told friends that he challenged the comedian, saying: ‘It’s an insult to our religion and it’s terrible he’s used Christ as a cover-up for his sins.’
The inmate also claimed Brand had been telling others that he was ‘royally stitched up by the Establishment and the truth will prevail’, while insisting he would appeal his convictions for rape and sexual assault.
‘Brand is full of s***,’ he said. ‘He deserves no sympathy.’ At the same time, the comedian—who is facing a series of new allegations—is reportedly pursuing a ‘secret’ plan to reach the outside world through his X account.
He is allegedly considering using an official, government-approved communications service for prisoners to pass messages to people outside the prison.
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. Those supporters would then post the messages to his 10.1 million X followers.
Prisoners are prohibited from accessing social media platforms such as X themselves.
The source claimed Brand believes he can avoid detection by using ‘his own email address for mundane chats’ while paying another prisoner to use their address for other outgoing messages.
‘He is hoping this will blindside the prison staff,’ the source added.
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