Russell Brand's father, 80, furiously defends his son against rape and sex ... trends now

Russell Brand's father today defended his son against claims he abused women for years, calling them 'unproven' and declaring: 'Is this seriously the most important thing happening in this world?'.

Ron Brand, 80, is the man the star credits for super-charging his 'rapacious' sex addiction after he lost his virginity to a prostitute paid for by his father who was sleeping with two more women in a neighbouring bed in Hong Kong.

Brand Sr has today hit out at 'unproven' allegations about his son, and suggested that dark forces including the BBC are pursuing a 'vendetta' against him, as more women came forward to accuse him of abuse.

He said: 'Is this seriously the most important thing happening in this world? Immigrants? Cost of living? 10s of thousands killed in Ukraine? Who is prioritising at BBC News. Who is really driving this vendetta?'.

He added: 'With many struggling to pay bills. The unproven accusations of 15 years ago take lead on BBC News?'.

The influence of Ron Brand on his son and his sex life was revealed in his son's autobiography My Booky Wook. 

His parents split up when he was six. Although Brand adored his mother, and was bound ever closer to her when she suffered cancer when he was a child, he has clearly been greatly influenced by his father.

He talked about watching porn videos at his dad’s house when he was in primary school.

When he was 17, Brand and his father went on a trip to the Far East.  Brand was hugely excited by chatting to bar girls in Hong Kong, and could not believe his luck when Ron hired three of them to go back to their hotel. ‘My dad set about unwrapping his two prostitutes,’ he wrote.

He attempted to impress the remaining one, although he found the ‘bedlam’ from the neighbouring bed unsettling. 

'I sat on the edge of the other twin bed. She must have known I was a virgin as soon as the bungling encounter commenced.

'I stroked Mary-Lou's hair and kissed her cheek and traced my finger down her perfect nose, scored by the cacophony from the adjacent bedlam, "Yeah, come on!' and "Phwooar, you're juicy".' 

He added that ‘during the rest of that holiday I f****d loads more prostitutes and never wore a condom… it had hardened me… my sexuality had morphed for ever from bewildered innocence into something more complex and rapacious.’

Today The Times and Sunday Times claimed several more women have come forward with undisclosed and untested allegations about Brand's behaviour during the early 2000s in wake of their joint investigation with Channel 4 which was published on Saturday.

The latest allegations - which the newspaper says have not been investigated, but will now be 'rigorously checked' - follow accusations from four women, including one who claims she was sexually assaulted by Brand during a three-month relationship with him when she was 16 and still at school. 

The BBC is now also facing 'urgent questions' after it was claimed that Brand, 48, used his company-provided car service to pick the girl up from school.

It comes as both BBC and Channel 4 have launched internal investigations into separate accusations of predatory behaviour by Brand towards staff and audience members during the time of his employment. 

Channel 4 has since removed all programmes linked to Brand from its website, including episodes of The Great British Bake Off and Big Brother's Big Mouth in which he was featured, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Netflix has since been urged to remove his comedy special, titled Re:Birth, from its streaming catalogue.

The maverick actor and stand-up comic has strenuously denied any wrongdoing and blamed the ‘mainstream media’ for the ‘litany of astonishing rather baroque attacks’. 

BBC chiefs scrambled to investigate Brand last night after the comedian was accused of rape. 

Their probe was announced minutes before Scotland Yard piled on the pressure by announcing that detectives would like to speak to the comedian’s alleged victims.

Brand, a former star of the BBC and Channel 4, faces bombshell claims from women alleging sexual assaults, abuse and predatory behaviour – including one who was a 16-year-old schoolgirl. 

But the claims from one businesswoman – who alleged Brand raped her when she refused a threesome – and another who said she was 16 when he choked her during a sexual act, prompted a firestorm yesterday.

Among the complaints raised in the investigation were allegations by a woman, referred to as Alice to protect her identity, who claims she was sexually assaulted by Brand as a 16-year-old.

She alleges he took her virginity, was 'preoccupied' with her being 'innocent and pure', and often referred to her as 'The Child'. 

Alice described his behaviour towards her as 'grooming' as Brand would allegedly provide her with scripts on how to deceive her parents into allowing her to visit him. She also claimed he would send his 'BBC car' to her secondary school to pick her up.

'The first time I used it, he told me it was booked to take him to his radio show but he had a friend taking him instead so I should use that car,' she told The Times. 

She claimed the chauffeur once took her from Brand's home to her grandmother's house and that on a separate occasion the same car 'picked me up from school'.

Alice added: 'It was the same car...I knew that that was a BBC car.'

The BBC did not initially commit to an inquiry but amid the growing outcry, it shifted its position last night and a spokesman said it was ‘urgently looking into the issues’.

In a statement, a BBC spokesman said: 'The documentary and associated reports contained serious allegations, spanning a number of years.

'Russell Brand worked on BBC radio programmes between 2006 and 2008 and we are urgently looking into the issues raised.' 

The broadcaster yesterday launched an internal investigation into what was known about Brand's alleged behaviour following claims that at least one senior executive was aware of complaints against the comedian and seemingly dismissed them.

Banijay UK, which produced Big Brother's EForum and Big Brother's Big Mouth in the early 2000s, revealed it had also 'launched an urgent investigation' into the 'very serious' allegations from former staff who worked alongside Brand when he hosted the programmes between 2004 and 2006. 

The ex-staffers have claimed that Brand got them to 'act like pimps' by getting the numbers of women in the audience and passing notes to them from the presenter.

Channel 4 has also said it is conducting its own internal investigation following allegations of predatory behaviour against Brand.

They said: 'We have asked the production company who produced the programmes for Channel 4 to investigate these allegations and report their findings properly and satisfactorily to us.

'Channel 4 is also conducting its own internal investigation, and we would encourage anyone who is aware of such behaviour to contact us directly.'

The statement added: 'We will be writing to all our current suppliers reminding them of their responsibilities under our Code of Conduct, as we are committed to ensuring our industry has safe, inclusive and professional working environments.'

The network also confirmed to the Telegraph that it has 'taken down all content featuring Russell Brand while we look into the matter'.

MailOnline has approached the BBC, Channel 4 and Netflix for comment.  

The Metropolitan Police have begun enquiries into allegations of sexual assault published in The Sunday Times and on Channel 4's Dispatches.

The show saw multiple women accusing him of abusive and predatory behaviour, including rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse, between 2006 and 2013.

Officers have spoken to The Sunday Times following the report and have now encouraged any potential victims to come forwards. At this time, the force has 'not received any reports in relation' to the allegations of sexual assault detailed in the article or documentary.

Met Police intends to further speak with the newspaper and broadcaster in a bid to 'ensure that any victims of crime who they have spoken with are aware of how they may report any criminal allegations to police'. 

The force said in a statement: 'We are aware of media reporting of a series of allegations of sexual assault. At this time, we have not received any reports in relation to this. 

'We spoke with the Sunday Times on Saturday, September 16. We will be making further approaches to the Sunday Times and Channel 4 to ensure that any victims of crime who they have spoken with are aware of how they may report any criminal allegations to police.'

The Times today reported that more women have come forward to detail allegations of Brand's alleged treatment of them. Those claims have yet to be investigated.

But one alleged victim whose story was featured in the documentary says she is relieved that other women's allegations are being heard.

The woman, referred to as Nadia in the investigation, told The Times last night: 'I'm super-proud of all the women who have come forward. I know how hard it is - thinking "I'm the only one" and "Who is going to believe me". 

'It was all very hard to read and to watch but I think it's very necessary - because he needs to be stopped.'

Nadia, who claims Brand raped her in his Los Angeles home in 2012, added that he 'cannot hurt me any more' and said she hopes that he will 'not hurt anybody else'.

Brand was dropped by a charity working to end violence against women in light of the accusations. However, he has received support from some public figures, with the likes of Elon Musk, Andrew Tate and Laurence Fox all appearing to back the comedian as he claimed to be the victim of a 'co-ordinated media attack'.

Billionaire tech mogul Musk, self-proclaimed misogynist Tate and actor-turned-political activist Fox threw their weight behind Brand, fellow comedians such as Jo Caulfield, Sofie Hagen and Daniel Sloss appeared to turn their backs on him.

Two of the women in Channel 4's Dispatches which aired on Saturday night said they felt production companies had 'enabled' Brand's behaviour.

Production runner, Rachel, 24, worked alongside Brand on Big Brother's EForum, later Big Mouth. Weeks after she started the role, Brand is said to have focused his attention on her.

Rachel said: 'It's difficult to say when the line was crossed.' She added that producers often asked her to deliver unfavourable news to Brand to 'soften the blow'.

She said the pair went on to have sex, which he told her was a breach of his contract.

Rachel said: 'He made clear to me I couldn't tell anyone else on the crew because he had it written into his contract that he wasn't allowed to have any sexual contact with anyone working on Big Brother.

'It sounds slightly dramatic but with hindsight and now as an older woman I can say with clarity that, you know, I felt like I was groomed, for sex.

'Production companies enabled him to exist in these environments where he was able to take advantage of who he was.'

Three staff who worked on Big Brother told Dispatches about Brand.

One said: 'My role was to recruit audience

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