MP Dame Caroline Dinenage has re-iterated her concerns about the fact Brand was able to post videos online in the build-up to and during his trial to his millions of followers.
“This does continue to be an issue that he has made money throughout the process on his social media platform,” she told BBC Breakfast.
“It just felt very odd that during the height of when there was a police investigation and some really serious allegations in the paper, that he was able to go online to his two and a half million followers, denying everything and putting his side of the story forward.
“That was an opportunity that his victims didn’t have.”
In September 2023, after the Sunday Times and Channel 4 Dispatches allegations were made against Brand, Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Committee chair Dame Caroline wrote to social media companies Rumble, X, TikTok and Meta.
She asked if they would follow YouTube in cutting off Brand’s income on their platforms. Rumble publicly refused, and X said it does not take action against accounts that have not broken its rules or the law. TikTok said he had never been monetised there.
“We know that he had used his following [online] to try and cow people into silence,” added Dame Caroline.
“And the fact that they [the women] were able to come forward and tell their story and tell their truth and secure this conviction because of it is unbelievably impressive.”