Russell Brand spent his first night in solitary confinement at one of Britain's worst prisons while a fellow inmate carried out a dirty protest, the Daily Mail can reveal.
asserted
Mail → spend → protest
The disgraced actor arrived at HMP Wandsworth in south-west London in a prison van after his conviction yesterday and was put in the Care and Separation Unit (CSU).
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actor → arrive → Unit
The CSU is the prison's designated segregation and solitary confinement area - also known as 'The Block' or 'The Seg' - where high-risk inmates sit alone in their cells.
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inmates → designate → cells
The unit is located mostly below ground level in what are known as the 'bowels' of the Victorian prison, with the actor now being dubbed: 'Russell from the Block'.
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actor → locate → Block
Guards at Wandsworth decided that Brand was too famous for the 'Vulnerable Prisoners' (VPs) wing, where many rapists and other sex offenders are held.
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rapists → decide → wing
Brand faces a potentially years-long imprisonment after being convicted of raping one of his fans and sexually assaulting three women during his showbiz heyday.
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Brand → face → heyday
He preyed on women he encountered while becoming one of Britain's best-known stand-up comedians, a lauded TV and radio host, and a Hollywood movie star.
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he → prey → comedians
Brand will return to Southwark Crown Court on Monday for his sentencing, with officials said to be keen to get him out of Wandsworth to a more suitable prison.
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officials → return → prison
Russell Brand arrives at Southwark Crown Court yesterday, before his conviction later that day
A prison cell at HMP Wandsworth on E Wing, the location of the Care and Separation Unit (CSU)
Prison governors or operational managers can put an inmate in segregation for up to 72 hours at first, before a review board decides whether this should be extended.
Prisoners within the CSU spend almost the whole day locked in their cells – with movement tightly controlled and limited access to education and social interaction.
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movement → arrive → education
The CSU at Wandsworth is known as one of the worst parts of the jail, with the stench said to be particularly awful at the moment while a prisoner carries out a dirty protest.
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prisoner → know → protest
This is when an inmate decides to deliberately smear or throw bodily waste, usually faeces and sometimes urine, around their cell or sometimes onto prison staff.
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inmate → decide → staff
Wandsworth has previously been dubbed one of Britain's worst prisons after a series of inspection reports criticised its ageing infrastructure and chronic overcrowding.
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series → dub → infrastructure
The 51-year-old star was said to be 'petrified' after being taken to the jail last night.
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star → say → jail
He had been visibly shaken as the prospect of prison loomed over his trial, saying he was scared in an episode of his Sunday Service show with wife Laura Gallacher.
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he → shake → Gallacher
In the recording on October 11 - the day before the jury was selected - Ms Gallacher, who left the court in tears yesterday, read out a message from a supporter who told him that God would be with him in prison and that he would 'get through it'.
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he → select → it
Brand, who said he entered court wearing the 'full armour of God', tapped her on the shoulder and said: 'I don't like things where it's like you might have to go to prison.'
She replied sympathetically: 'Yeah, I know, but that is just the nature of what a trial is.'
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trial → say → prison
Months earlier, Brand had been asked by Piers Morgan whether he had considered the 'reality' that he could end up in jail.
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he → ask → jail
He replied: 'I will be with God wherever I am.'
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I → reply → God
Brand with his wife Laura Gallacher and her father Bernard Gallacher outside court on Monday
Russell Brand's wife Laura Gallacher leaves Southwark Crown Court yesterday afternoon
After Brand arrived at Wandsworth last night, he was medically examined and strip-searched before being given a prison tracksuit to wear and taken to the CSU.
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he → leave → CSU
He spent the night on a rock-hard bed inside a cramped cell at the 1851 prison, before being served cereal or porridge, fruit and a cup of tea this morning.
As the first 24 hours in prison carry a high risk of acute emotional distress or self-harm, staff conducted risk assessments as they would do with all new inmates.
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they → spend → inmates
Brand is also believed to have undergone body scans while fingerprints and mugshots were taken before his personal cash and belongings were removed.
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cash → believe → scans
One treasured possession Brand was allowed to keep was his Bible.
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Brand → treasure → ?
After being booked in, Brand was placed in a holding cell with other new arrivals as his cell in the jail's induction wing was prepared.
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cell → book → wing
Because Brand, previously a vegan and vegetarian, arrived after the evening meal had been served, a simple packed lunch-style dinner was placed in his cell.
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dinner → arrive → cell
He was also given a 'first-night pack' which consists of toiletries including a toothbrush and toothpaste and a food pack including cereal, tea, milk and sugar.
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which → give → cereal
The packs also contain treats including Polos, juice sticks and digestive biscuits.
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packs → contain → Polos
Brand was also handed one toilet roll.
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Brand → hand → roll
He was given two pairs of prison-issue jogging bottoms plus T-shirts and sweatshirts and underwear.
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He → give → bottoms
He was allowed one three-minute phonecall behind bars – likely to have been made to Ms Gallacher.
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He → allow → Gallacher
But that will be his only call for a week, because all phone numbers have to be approved and assigned a PIN.
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numbers → have → PIN
Brand was monitored around the clock and blocked from mixing with other inmates.
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Brand → monitor → inmates
With facilities run on strict timetables, cell doors were locked shortly after he settled in.
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he → run → timetables
Regular checks were carried out on Brand during the night in line with usual prison protocols.
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checks → carry → protocols
The star's new surroundings are basic - a bed consisting of a flimsy mattress on top of a fixed concrete slab, stainless steel toilet and wash basin and a bolted down table and stool.
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surroundings → consist → slab
It was a scene that could not be further removed from the star's now former home - a £6million six-bedroom riverside mansion in Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire.
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that → remove → Oxfordshire
Photographers surround a prison van as it leaves Southwark Crown Court yesterday afternoon
Hardened criminals have confessed how losing their freedom for the first time had left them deeply distressed and disorientated.
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losing → surround → them
Describing the experience, the volunteer-run Doing Time website says: 'The first night tends to pass very slowly, as it has for countless prisoners before you.
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it → describe → you
Every horror story you've ever heard about prison will probably run through your head, and if you've seen The Shawshank Redemption, you'll be bracing for the worst.
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you → hear → worst
It would be dishonest to pretend there's no violence or conflict in prison - there is, and not all of it makes the news.'
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all → pretend → news
After his four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court, Brand, who had previously been on bail, seemed ill-prepared for what was to come - apparently arriving without an overnight suitcase he would have been advised to bring with him.
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he → seem → him
…and 21 more, not listed.
The Aporia
