Russell Brand victims treated in 'shocking and depressing way' in court, says Labour minister

Labour’s deputy leader has claimed Russell Brand’s victims were treated in a “shocking and depressing” way during his rape and sexual assault trial.He was convicted of raping one of his fans at his London home in 2009, as well as sexually assaulting three female staffers at various TV and radio stations.Brand’s defence barrister Ian Winter KC has faced backlash for claiming the rape should only be “regarded as a man who went too far” and that the victims were “not particularly vulnerable at all”.Winter also argued that Brand’s crimes were due to his level of fame at the time and said he could not be a rapist as his accusers had not “resisted or screamed or even tried to leave”.Labour minister Lucy Powell has now said “more steps” need to be taken to safeguard victims in court.Russell Brand was convicted of rape and sexual assault last week PA Wire“I was shocked and depressed, quite honestly, as I'm sure many, many others were, to hear of some of that cross-examination and the way that these that women were treated in this trial,” she told BBC Radio 4.“I think we all thought that that era was long behind us. Clearly, more steps need to be taken in this regard.”Andy Burnham has said he will look at how rape cases are conducted in court after Brand’s conviction, to prevent women feeling like they are the ones on trial.The prime minister said he will study Brand’s case in “great detail” and refused to rule out changes to the law.Lucy Powell said his victims were treated ‘shockingly’ in court PA WireRead MoreHe turned on Sunday Times journalist Rosamund Urwin, whose investigation helped bring Brand’s victims forward, telling: “I hope you are pleased with yourself.”Urwin fired back, “I’m pleased justice has been done,” to Winter replied: “Well, it wasn’t. You f***** it. Congratulations.”The exchange came after Brand’s legal team sought to blame media coverage for the case against him, with Winter arguing during the trial that reporting by Urwin and others had “poisoned the well” and made it impossible for his client to receive a fair trial.But his claims were rejected by trial judge Mr Justice Bennathan, who dismissed Brand’s bid to prevent the trial from going ahead because of negative media coverage.