Show Notes
Can new government measures really improve the experience of rape victims in the criminal justice system? With thousands of rape and sexual assault cases waiting to reach court, ministers are promising dedicated courtrooms, fixed trial dates and more support for victims.
In this episode, Liz speaks to senior barrister Mary Prior KC about whether the proposals can make a meaningful difference. Mary explains why delays are so damaging for both victims and those accused, the practical problems facing courts across England and Wales, and why she believes much more investment is needed to fix a system struggling under years of pressure.
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Presenter: Liz Hull Guest: Mary Prior KC Editor: Chelsey Ranore Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham Assistant Producer: Harriet Muckle Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini
A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular. The Trial series uses actors and some voices generated by AI. Their words are taken as verbatim from the official court transcript.
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A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from The Trial: Russell Brand
Day 9: We've now heard from all six of the women in the case. Today Caroline and Liz have the words of the final three of them. One alleges Russell Brand attacked her in a frenzy, kissing and groping her without warning in front of several members of his entourage, before laughing when she told him to 'f*** off.' Another claims he 'hurt and harmed her' during an alleged rape after she met him backstage at a stand-up gig. She says he refused to stop when she cried out in pain. The final woman also alleges sexual assault. She complained to her bosses at Channel 4 when he demanded a massage during a Christmas project they were working on.
Day 8: The final alleged victim of Russell Brand said she felt degraded “like a piece of meat” after he anally raped her. She said for years she blamed herself for willingly going to his house for sex. But she did not consent to what he did. She became an alcoholic and struggled to live with the guilt and shame. But she said part of her recovery was accepting what happened was not her fault. Russell Brand denies the charges.
It’s Day 7 of The Trial: Russell Brand and we’ve now heard from four of the six women at the case. They all accuse Russell Brand of some kind of sexual offences. Today we’ve got the words of a woman who says she was leapt on by Russell Brand when she was working for a radio station in the early 2000s when he was staring in the Big Brother spin off show. She said he leapt on her in a tiny room, kissed her and groped her, pinning her against a wall - and she said his entourage of three men and a woman did nothing to stop him. Another woman said Russell Brand orally raped her after dragging her into a toilet in a bar and another said Russell Brand put his head into groin during a filming project. Caroline and Liz have their words today.
It's Day 6 of Russell Brand's trial and we've now heard from three alleged victims. One of the women told the jury today that within 30 seconds of meeting him in a bar in 2004, Russell Brand grabbed her breasts, and then dragged her into the toilet where he orally raped her. The woman said she was in shock and in a daze after the alleged attack but afterwards Russell Brand simply suggested they swap numbers. We've also now heard from another woman who said that in 2001 Russell Brand also tried to drag her into the toilets after they met at MTV where she was working. She said he was forceful and he had a "wild look in his eye." She said he was trying to assault her but she managed to get away.
What really happened at the Labour Party Conference in 1999? A woman who says she was the victim of a sex attack there, claims he went from being charming and chatty to monstrous in a matter of hours.