BBC ‘urgently looking into issues raised’ by Russell Brand allegations

Brand, pictured in 2006, faces allegations stretching over a seven-year period at the height of his fame. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

The BBC has said it is “urgently looking into the issues raised” by the publication of allegations of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse against Russell Brand.

The Sunday Times published allegations this weekend that Brand had sexually assaulted four women after a years-long investigation into claims about his behaviour in collaboration with Channel 4’s Dispatches.