Russell Brand charged with several driving offences

Controversial Russell Brand has been charged by police over alleged driving offences. The 49 year old actor, known for his role in Get Him To The Greek, is also separately being investigated by the Metropolitan Police over allegations of sex crimes made by multiple women.

Now, it's reported that the star is facing charges related to his driving. Brand has been charged with two counts of speeding and two counts of failing to inform the police whether he or someone else was driving the vehicle.

As previously reported, he has enlisted the services of Nick Freeman's law firm to represent him in the magistrates court hearings. The Mirror has reached out to his representatives for comment. It's understood that the case initially went through the Single Justice Procedure but appears to be heading towards an open court hearing.

Court documents obtained by The Standard regarding one of the speeding charges and one allegation of failing to respond to a police letter revealed that a Mini registered to the actor was allegedly caught going 37mph in a 30mph zone near his home in Oxfordshire, reports the Mirror.

His lawyer requested the court to refrain from recording any pleas against the charges on October 10, stating: "We would respectfully request that the Single Justice take no pleas at this stage and that the cases be listed for a mention hearing so that representations can be made to the police in relation to a swift resolution of the matter. Should the court not be satisfied with no pleas being entered then we would ask for preliminary not guilty pleas to be taken for ALL FOUR charges."

Additionally, the request continued: "We would ask that a trial date is not fixed and that the case is listed for either mention or case management hearing." It was reported that when the case was brought before a magistrate on October 25, no pleas were recorded and the proceedings were adjourned.

This follows the public scrutiny the comedian faced regarding serious personal allegations including rape and assault, as revealed by an investigation conducted jointly by Channel 4's Dispatches, The Times, and Sunday Times last year. He has emphatically refuted all allegations about his behaviour, which purportedly occurred during the peak of his career from 2006 to 2013.

Asserting his innocence, he has continually affirmed that all his sexual encounters were "absolutely always consensual."