Russell Brand, who will be sentenced on Monday for rape and sexual assault, is locked up at HMP Wandsworth, a large jail in southwest London and home to morethan 1,500 lags
Russell Brand has spent the weekend in one of the most notorious prisons in London which has been branded “horrible” and “awful”.
Brand, 51, faces years in prison after he was convicted of raping one of his fans and sexually assaulting three women during the height of his fame. The disgraced comedian was denied bail at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday and was taken to HMP Wandsworth, in southwest London.
Visitors, speaking to the Mirror, revealed the rough life the rapist is already facing behind bars with “food slop” and “23 hours inside cells”.
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A female visitor claimed to the Mirror that her partner, who was inside the London prison, has issues with the food at the notorious jail and said Wandsworth was “short-staffed”.
She said: “It’s really horrible in there. My partner is vegetarian and they keep giving him chicken. He’s also a Muslim and they kept trying to give him pork.
“They’re awful. They’re really short-staffed so the prisoners are in their cells 23 hours a day a lot of the time.”
Another woman, who did not want to be named, echoed similar frustrations over the conditions inside, even claiming her partner said Brand, who turned into a wellness content creator after his comedy career, was struggling with the food inside.
She told the Mirror: “My boyfriend told me about Brand being in there. He said Brand doesn’t like the food and is struggling to eat it. It’s slop.”
Another source, who had just visited her son inside the jail, said: “My son said Brand is downstairs from him. He said no one is allowed to see or speak to him.”
Another female visitor added: “Apparently Brand requested to go on the main wing, but they decided to put him in isolation.”
A damning report into HMP Wandsworth, by HM Inspectorate of Prisons, found the clink had serious problems including dilapidated cells, vermin and problems with the hot water. These came after inspections in April and May 2024.
Inspectors were concerned with several aspects of the Category B men’s prison and issued bosses an immediate action plan to improve standards at the slammer, home to more than 1,500 convicts.
The document, seen by the Mirror today, said: “Overall living conditions were poor. Levels of overcrowding were high, with 80% of prisoners sharing cells designed for one. The prison was dirty. Many showers were in poor condition across the prison, and some should have been decommissioned.
“There were frequent issues with heating and hot water. Numerous cells had damaged furniture, flooring, windows or sinks. Many observation panels were blocked or smashed. Vermin remained a problem in the prison.
“Recent intensive work with an outside provider had seen some improvement, but prisoners told us that rodents were still seen frequently, and we found evidence of rat droppings across residential units.”
The Mirror has reached out to the Ministry of Justice for comment.
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