The convicted rapist has spent his first 24 hours in strict isolation in HMP Wandsworth’s Care and Separation Unit, deep in the grim ‘bowels’ of the prison
Russell Brand had a smelly first night in solitary confinement at HMP Wandsworth as a fellow lag reportedly carried out a dirty protest. The convicted rapist is being held in the notorious south west London jail’s Care and Separation Unit (CSU) after being found guilty of rape and sexual assault.
The CSU is also known as ‘The Block’ or ‘The Seg’ – and is largely below ground in what staff describe as the “bowels” of the Victorian prison – with the actor now being dubbed “Russell from the Block”.
And his arrival is said to have coincided with an inmate staging a dirty protest – deliberately smearing or throwing faeces or urine – around a cell – the Daily Mail reported.
Officers at Wandsworth reportedly decided Brand was too high-profile for the Vulnerable Prisoners (VPs) wing, where many rapists and other sex offenders are housed.
Under prison rules, a governor or operational manager can place an inmate in segregation for an initial period of up to 72 hours, before a review board considers whether it should be extended.
Inmates held in the CSU are kept locked up for most of the day, with strict controls on when they can leave their cells and little opportunity for education or social contact.
At Wandsworth, the CSU has a grim reputation as one of the harshest areas of the prison, with reports that the smell can be especially unbearable when someone carries out a “dirty protest”, the Daily Mail reported.
After Brand arrived at Wandsworth last night, he reportedly was taken through the standard reception process, including a medical assessment and a strip-search, before being issued prison-issue clothing and moved to the CSU.
He is said to have spent his first night in a cramped cell at the 1851 jail, sleeping on a hard bed, before being given a basic breakfast this morning such as cereal or porridge, fruit and tea.
Because the first 24 hours behind bars are considered a high-risk period for acute distress and self-harm, staff carried out the usual risk assessments given to all new arrivals, according to the Daily Mail.
Brand is also thought to have been body-scanned, fingerprinted and photographed, with any cash and personal items removed, recorded and stored.
One item he was reportedly allowed to keep was his Bible. As part of the induction process, he was placed in a holding cell with other new inmates while his initial accommodation was prepared.
And because he arrived after the evening meal had been served – having previously been vegan and vegetarian – he was left a simple packed-lunch style meal in his cell, as per the Daily Mail.
He was also issued a “first-night pack” containing toiletries such as a toothbrush and toothpaste, along with a food pack including cereal, tea, milk and sugar.
The packs can also include small treats like Polos, juice sticks and digestive biscuits, plus a single toilet roll. He was reportedly given multiple changes of prison-issue clothing, including jogging bottoms, T-shirts, sweatshirts and underwear.
Brand was allowed one short phone call from custody – likely to his wife, Laura Gallacher – but further calls typically depend on numbers being approved and linked to a PIN.
He was monitored throughout the night and kept apart from other prisoners, with the wing operating to a strict timetable and staff carrying out regular checks.
His cell is understood to be basic, with a thin mattress on a fixed concrete plinth, a stainless-steel toilet and sink, and a table and stool fixed in place.
Brand’s time in custody began at court, where he was held for around two hours before being collected by HM Prison Service staff, escorted to a secure van and driven out via a side exit.
On arrival at Wandsworth he was reportedly formally processed, with his suit and boots removed and placed into storage as he was handed a standard prison kit. He is now cut off from social media, with phones and laptops treated as contraband.
Items like a crucifix or rosary beads are also typically removed during early-stage checks, particularly where staff are managing self-harm risk, according to the Daily Mail.
Brand is due back at Southwark Crown Court on Monday (November 9) for sentencing, and officials are said to be eager to move him on from Wandsworth to a prison deemed more appropriate.
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