Russell Brand's lawyer in row over post-verdict outburst

LONDON, United Kingdom – The lawyer of British actor and comedian Russell Brand, convicted of rape and sexual assaults, said Friday he had referred himself to a regulator after reportedly swearing at a journalist.

Brand's barrister Ian Winter approached a journalist for The Sunday Times, Rosamund Urwin, shortly after the guilty verdict, the Press Association news agency and The Times newspaper reported.

Urwin had investigated separate allegations against Brand jointly with Channel Four television, and their 2023 reporting of anonymized allegations prompted the women in the London trial to come forward.

Winter reportedly told Urwin: "I hope you are pleased with yourself," to which she replied she was pleased justice had been done.

"Well it wasn't. You fucked it. Congratulations," he reportedly replied outside the courtroom door, watched by journalists.

In an email sent to the media, Winter said that after news reports he had self-reported "those allegations" to The Bar Standards Board, which regulates courtroom lawyers in England and Wales.

The Times reported that several complaints had been submitted to the watchdog about the incident.

A spokesperson for the Bar Standards Board told AFP it did not comment on information about potential misconduct and its procedures are "usually conducted confidentially."

Winter cross-examined the women at Brand's trial, asking them why they had not run away or hit Brand and why they waited years to report the crimes, a form of questioning that has prompted criticism.

Refuge domestic violence charity said afterwards it was "deeply troubling that professionals in the justice system continue to perpetuate harmful myths about abuse," calling such questioning a "horrific form of victim-blaming."