Various Artists asks Jack Bayles to step back

Various Artists Limited has asked Jack Bayles, its head of comedy, to step back from the company while it considers Russell Brand’s trial verdict and the events surrounding the case. The company said Bayles would no longer work on two BBC sitcoms it was producing, Such Brave Girls and Push. A jury at Southwark Crown Court found Brand guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. It acquitted him of two further rape charges and one charge of attempted indecent assault. The verdict included the sexual assault of a Channel 4 staff member in 2009, the incident in which Bayles was named during testimony. The court heard that Bayles and another member of Brand’s team were present when the woman was asked to give Brand a massage while working on a Channel 4 project. The woman testified that Brand put his head in her groin and said she complained to her employers afterward. Accounts of the testimony also described Bayles as allegedly watching and laughing; that allegation has not been established as a separate finding by the jury. Bayles said he did not remember the incident. He said he recognised that he may have missed signs that the woman was distressed and...