Powell calls the cross-examination of Brand's victims depressing and backs the judge on consent
Lucy PowellDeputy leader of the Labour Party and education secretary, interviewed on LBC
Asked on LBC about the defence's questioning of the women, Powell said she found it depressing and thought that culture was long gone, and praised the judge's sentencing remarks that sex without consent is rape whatever a woman wore or drank.
“I found reading some of that incredibly sort of depressing. I thought we'd long gone past that sort of culture and that phase of things. ... And the judge's remarks were also incredibly powerful in sentencing: that it doesn't matter what you wear, how you behaved, how drunk you are, you know, you have the right to give your consent or not give your consent. And if it's not given, then that is rape and that is a sexual offence, pure and simple.”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Russell Brand denied nonconsensual sex; jury convicts him of rape and sexual assault
Russell Brand said his relationships during the period under scrutiny were consensual. A jury later convicted him of rape and three sexual assaults, while acquitting him on three other counts. Prosecutors described abuse of power; Megyn Kelly disputed the credibility of the account underlying the rape conviction.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Guardian report quoting the Metropolitan Police's statement that people have come forward with further information since Brand's trial began, and Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell's November 10, 2026, LBC remarks on the cross-examination of the women.
Before the quotation
Brand was sentenced on November 9 to 10 years and six months in prison. At trial his barrister, Ian Winter KC, suggested he must be innocent because none of the women had resisted, screamed or tried to leave.
After the quotation
Powell also said she regretted Ed Miliband's 2015 interview with Brand, arranged while she was Labour's campaign chief, and called it a different era before his conduct was exposed.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Powell criticizes the way the women were questioned and endorses the judge's statement that sex without consent is rape, so we labeled it as condemning Brand's conduct.
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The Dispute Index. "Powell calls the cross-examination of Brand's victims depressing and backs the judge on consent". First published: 2026-11-13. Last updated: 2026-11-13. https://disputeindex.com/events/8885-asked-on-lbc-about-the-defence-s-questioning