Former assistant describes Brand’s conduct to trial

A former personal assistant to Russell Brand told a court that people around him normalised his behaviour and that she saw him treat women poorly, while saying she never witnessed him do anything unlawful. Helen Berger’s police statement was read to jurors at Southwark Crown Court during Brand’s trial. She said she worked for him from June 2006 to February 2007, during a period when he had television and radio work, a comedy tour and other commitments. She described the job as exhausting and said she left after nine months because she was burned out and sick of him. Berger said Brand had what she described as an “insane sexual appetite” and was sleeping with people day and night. She told police that women came to his flat for sex and that he used MySpace to meet women. She also described being asked to obtain phone numbers from female fans, a task she said made her uncomfortable and that she later refused to do. Her statement included accounts of sexual activity she said she encountered while working for Brand. Berger said she was told to take his mother and girlfriend to a green room because he was having sex in a dressing room. She also said she overheard oral sex in a...