Ex BBC director denies knowledge of Russell Brand’s ‘unacceptable’ behaviour

The former BBC Director-General during the time window of Russell Brand’s alleged sexual assaults has spoken up, and he is stumped.

On a Thursday episode of the podcast Beeb Watch hosted by Roger Bolton, Sir Mark John Thompson, 66, denied having any knowledge of Brand’s behaviour during his tenure as Director-General of BBC from 2004 to 2013 – the same period that Brand allegedly raped and sexually assaulted multiple women.

This was also the same time period throughout which Brand worked at BBC’s Radio 2 before he had to resign after a failed prank call by him to actor Andrew Sachs where he referenced his fling with Sachs’ granddaughter.

Following the infamous Sachsgate scandal, Thompson said it took him “no time at all to decide it was completely unacceptable.”

He further expressed that there was a “complete failure of editorial compliance and judgement” which led to a lot of things slipping past the board.

Following a bombshell expose whereby multiple women accused the English comedian of sexual assault and emotional abuse, an ex-BBC employee also came forward about a harrowing experience where Brand exposed himself to her in the BBC premises and later joked about it on his Radio 2 show.

“If, as it were, I had learned of other issues, I’d have acted on those as well,” the British media executive told Bolton.