Russell Brand accused of rape and sexual assault by four women

Other accusations have also been made about Brand’s behaviour, which they claim was abusive and predatory.

Brand, 48, has denied all allegations against him, saying in a YouTube video on Friday night that all his relationships have been consensual.

The allegations come from a seven-year period at the height of his fame in which Brand was a presenter for BBC Radio 2 and Channel 4 and also an actor in Hollywood films.

The investigation by the Sunday Times, Times and Channel 4 Dispatches gave Brand eight days to respond to the allegations.

One woman alleges Brand raped her against a wall in his Los Angeles home, with medical records reportedly showing she was treated at a rape crisis centre on the same day.

Another alleges Brand sexually assaulted her when she was just 16 during their three-month relationship while she was still at school.

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The third alleges Brand sexually assaulted her while working with him in Los Angeles and a fourth described being sexually assaulted, with the actor then becoming physically and emotionally abusive.

The 48-year-old posted a video on Friday night denying “criminal” and “very serious” allegations.

He said: “Now, this isn't the usual type of video we make on this channel where we critique, attack and undermine the news in all its corruption because in this story, I am the news,” Brand said.

“I've received two extremely disturbing letters or a letter and an email.

“One from a mainstream media TV company, one from a newspaper listing a litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks, as well as some pretty stupid stuff like my community festival should be stopped, that I shouldn't be able to attack mainstream media narratives on this channel.

“But amidst this litany of astonishing rather baroque attacks, are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute.

“These allegations pertain to the time when I was working in the mainstream, when I was in the newspapers all the time, when I was in the movies. And as I've written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous.”

“Now, during that time of promiscuity, the relationships I had were absolutely always consensual. I was always transparent about that then, almost too transparent, and I'm being transparent about it now as well.

“And to see that transparency metastasized into something criminal that I absolutely deny makes me question, is there another agenda at play?”

He continued: “I'm aware that you guys have been saying in the comments for a while [saying] 'watch out, Russell. They're coming for you, you're getting too close to the truth, Russell Brand did not kill himself'.

“I know that a year ago there was a spate of articles - Russell Brand's a conspiracy theorist, Russell Brand's right wing. I'm aware of news media making phone calls, sending letters to people I know for ages and ages.

“It's being clear to me, or at least it feels to me like there's a serious and concerted agenda to control these kind of spaces and these kind of voices. And I mean, my voice along with your voice.

“I don't mind them using my books and my stand-up to talk about my promiscuous consensual conduct in the past. What I seriously refute are these very, very serious criminal allegations.”

“Also, it's worth mentioning that there are witnesses whose evidence directly contradicts the narrative that these two mainstream media outlets are trying to construct, apparently, in what seems to me to be a coordinated attack.

“Now, I don't wanna get into this any further because of the serious nature of the allegations, but I feel like I'm being attacked and plainly they're working very closely together. We are obviously going to look into this matter 'cause it's very, very serious.

“In the meantime, I want you to stay close, stay awake, but more important than any of that, if you can, please stay free.”