The metropolitan police has confirmed its received a report of an alleged Sexual Assault in 2003, and is in contact with the woman, following Media Investigations into claims made against the comedian Russell Brand. Four women have accused him of Sexual Assault and emotional abuse, allegations he denies. One of them, who was 16 at the time, has told the bbc that brand said people close to him discussed how to keep the fact she was so young, out of the public eye. His Current Uk Live Tour has now been postponed, and hes been dropped by his publisher. Well assess the significance of the met� s involvement, but first, heres our media correspondent, david sillito. I can pretend to be nice for a little bit. Russell brand. On this weekends Dispatches Programme he was accused of rape and multiple counts of Sexual Assault. Ill sleep on the sofa. The comedian now faces further allegations. More women have come forward. The metropolitan police say a complaint has been made to them of a Sexual Assault in 2003. Russell brand says its all untrue, and suggests a Mainstream Media plot. What i seriously refute are these very, very serious criminal allegations. Also, its worth mentioning that there are witnesses whose evidence directly contradicts the narratives that these two Mainstream Media outlets are trying to construct, apparently, in what seems to me to be a coordinated attack. A suggestion that one of the women interviewed by dispatches says is simply insulting. Its laughable that he would even imply that this is some kind of Mainstream Media conspiracy. Called alice on the programme, she says she was assaulted by him during a relationship that began when she was 16. Today, on womans hour, she described how she was picked up by a car she says that brand had ordered through the bbc. You believe a bbc car picked you up from school to take l you somewhere to meet him . It was back to his house. And you know that because of the way that you had seen these cars, that is your understanding of it . Yes, because i had used one of their cars previously, that he had told me just to tell the driver where to take me. Yeah, i take an awful lot of precautions. What i do is i make absolutely sure that it is a woman, and then go for it the bbc is looking into the allegations. Indeed, a host of other Media Organisations are also investigating because there have long been rumours. The investigating team were far from the first to look at brand. The difficulty with stories like this is that they are so hard and so many news outlets have tried to do this story in the past and failed. No, is this andrew sachs answerphone . Well, jonathan, this is unconventional. Ill blurt something out. Dont blurt something out hes been Courting Controversy throughout his career. When the bbc parted company with him in 2008 over sexually offensive answerphone messages. I do apologise for these terrible attacks, andrew sachs. There have been other stories in the papers about his conduct in the studio. His career is a showreel of moments that cross boundaries. Things was getting a bit fruity out there. All right, liz . Thank you. Well. Its been really. Dont be nervous. It starts in august, i in abu dhabi, right . Youre ovulating im ovulating . Oh, my god. I oh, wow. But when we caught up today with his former agent there was, he says, over those years, nothing untoward to report. Ive never had any complaints about him, other than turning up late, that kind of thing. However, for alice, she has memories that some people close to brand did have concerns about her being 16. They said it wasnt a good look for him and for his career. There was some kind of discussions, well, maybe we can say shes your goddaughter. And now, with further allegations emerging, a statement from his promoters, saying, the remaining shows on his current tour have been postponed. Davids here, along with lucy manning. Do you lucy first, what is your assessment of the significance of the metropolitan polices involvement there . ~ ,. , involvement there . Well, this is a si. Nificant involvement there . Well, this is a significant development, involvement there . Well, this is a significant development, It Involvement there . Well, this is a significant development, it means that you do now have the Police Involved in the Russell Brand allegations for the first time and it means there is likely to be an investigation, and as part of that they are probably going to want to speak to Russell Brand. In a statement, the metropolitan police put out, late this afternoon, they confirmed they had had an allegation from a woman about a Sexual Assault, that took place she alleges in soho in 2003, and the met said they are conin contract with her and supporting her. It is very difficult for women to come forward to the police, to make allegations about these type of Sexual Assaults, the met are saying if anyone else believes they are victim, then they should come forward, but it is tot just the police investigation, there is also pressure on the broadcasters like the bbc, like channel 4 from the politicians, those broadcasters employed Russell Brand, Downing Street says these are serious allegation, there needs to be transparency in the allegations, Russell Brand, of course, denies them, but he has now lost his book publish earthquake his agent and his tour has been postponed, so there there have been consequences so far. Sure, david, lucy makes the point there, that the legacy media, channel 4, there, that the legacy media, channelli, bbc, they there, that the legacy media, channel 4, bbc, they are making inquiries are, but Russell Brand is a huge figure, in new media, so, what are they doing, in regard to all this . . Very much so, a man who presents himself as an outsider is very much a media fig ukraine he was playing to cheers at a packed house this weekend. He has six million followers on youtube, one has nine million view, that is three times the size of an average peak time tv audience these day, google is as big audience these day, google is as big a Media Organisation as there is on the Planet Anding in so far, and of course there is a lot of focus on the legacy Media Organisations going back over 20 year, mtv, channel 4, the bbc, Hollywood Studios and the questions here, are were there are complaints at the time, what did anyone do about it . I think there is anyone do about it . I think there is an equally important question, if there arent complaints, is that because people felt they couldnt complain, and what does that say about the culture the Entertainment Industry . David, thank you and lucy. Thanks both. Thereve been big protests in Eastern Libya against the government, after the collapse of two dams during a storm, triggered catastrophic floods. The United Nations has now revised its estimate of the number of confirmed deaths to around 4,000, with at least 5,000 still missing. Our correspondent anna foster, has more from the port city of derna, where the mayors house appears to have been burned down, by angry protestors. Anger and blame in derna, after a week of struggle for its flood survives they raised their voices. This group gathered at the Landmark Mosque to protest. And then, as night fell, there were videos that seemed to show the homes set on fire. And derna is paying a terrible price. Fire. And derna is paying a terrible rice. ,. , price. Children, women, my mother. My mother price. Children, women, my mother. My mother my price. Children, women, my mother. My mother. My brother. Price. Children, women, my mother. My mother. My brother. My price. Children, women, my mother. My mother. My brother. My sister. Price. Children, women, my mother. My mother. My brother. My sister tl my mother. My brother. My sistert all dead. But they are not living here, they are living in the next street. This is a bad situation, we dont know, we don need food, we dont know, we don need food, we dont need clothes, we need where will we live . We dont need clothes, we need where will we live . Will we live . We oined turkish Recovery Teams will we live . We joined turkish Recovery Teams in will we live . We joined turkish Recovery Teams in this will we live . We joined turkish Recovery Teams in this sealed i will we live . We joined turkish i Recovery Teams in this sealed off zone, to see their work. This is one of the streets that has been painstakingly cleared of victimers more than 500 in this area alone but it is a small part of the devastation and you can see there is still so much more to do. These buildings were overcome with water, 20 30 metres deep. Bodies have been found as high as six floors up. When the floods came, it was a Split Second Decision for People Living here. Would they be safer to stay, or escape . In a school not far away, this woman knows she made the right choice, she brought herfive children here before their home was swept away. And it saved their lives. My lives. My son is asking me where is my neighbour, where is my friends . Water takes us away. Every time asking me. I cannot answer. I answer him they are gone. He says no, mull, they are dead. I know. They are dead. I know. There are no lessons in they are dead. I know. There are no lessons in this they are dead. I know. There are no lessons in this school. They are dead. I know. There are no lessons in this school. No they are dead. I know. There are no lessons in this school. No homes i they are dead. I know. There are no lessons in this school. No homes toj lessons in this school. No homes to go back to. For now, the lives of this citys children are on pause. Anna foster, bbc news. Derna. The government has agreed to pay £600,000 to every postmaster and mistress who was wrongfully convicted and accused of False Accounting, due to a faulty Computer System. Between 1999 and 2015, the post office prosecuted more than 700 branch managers, with some going to jail and others taking their own lives, before their names were cleared. Its been described as one of the uks biggest ever miscarriages ofjustice. Emma simpson has more. Sub postmaster noel thomas on his way to prison in 2006. He spent his 60th Birthday there. Nine months behind bars. Two years ago, his conviction for False Accounting finally quashed. Only now is he getting his life back. Noel� s had an interim payment for compensation, but will he be tempted by the governments offer of £600,000 in total to bring this all to a close . I wouldnt say its not enough, but i still say that people have gone through a hell of a lot in this time. As i said, ive gone through a hell of a lot in 17 years. Nothing will no money will repay want we have lost. The post Office Minister told me he agrees, but says the government wants to offer noel and the other victims a new option. You can simply take a fixed sum that will compensate you for what youve been through, and that fixed sum will be £600,000. Completely net of tax, legal costs are covered on top of that, so people who have had a conviction that has been overturned can go down that route. It will not be fair for everybody, so some people will say this is not enough, and therefore they can still continue down the other route. Around 700 Sub Postmasters were convicted based on information from their Computer System called horizon. It was faulty, making it look like money was being stolen. Only 86 have so far have had their convictions overturned. £21 million has already been paid in compensation, mainly interim payments. But only five Sub Postmasters have been paid compensation in full. The solicitor representing most of the 86 says a difficult decision now lies ahead. There is a hugely attractive carrot being dangled, but for some, it doesnt represent full and fair compensation. The dilemma is accepting the sum that is of a value less than what would be full and fair, but which gives them the opportunity to enjoy some Peace Of Mind in retirement, after a long fought fight, where the years are running out. Its far from clear how many will accept this new offer, or press on in the long Running Battle to get what they fully deserve. Emma simpson, bbc news. The government is expected to announce tomorrow that its to intervene in the running of Birmingham City council. The local authority effectively declared bankruptcy earlier this month, saying it couldnt afford to settle an unequal pay claim of around three quarters of a billion pounds. Its thought commissioners could be sent in to run some of the councils operations. Spare a thought for many living in devon and somerset, now beginning the clean up, after a weekend where flash floods turned gardens into swimming pools, and living rooms into mudbaths. The flooding was the result of torrential rain and thunderstorms. The butlins Holiday Resort in minehead had to close, as did Exeter Airport, which has now re opened. Janice jansen, has more from the village of harburton, in devon. Mud, hideous mud. The big clean up is under way. Here in the village of halberton in devon, 20 homes were flooded. Betty baldwins house was the worst affected. Just woke up in the night to hear an awful lot of water, like the sea. And i thought, wheres all that sound coming from . I went to the window and i shouted, i cant get out, i cant get out. Im just so frightened. Help me, please. Here, the whole Community Came together to help the 95 year old. She was distressed, very distressed. I mean, its her 96th birthday in two weeks time. And, you know, you can imagine. Her furniture was floating in this room. I mean, actually, you know, when i climbed through the window, i had to step into. Literally, it was over my knees. Poor betty. All the mud went in. It must have been about three or four inches deep, all the way through the house. So the villagers have all rallied together and weve all been i shovelling mud and cleaning it out. Well, bettys lived here since she was eight years old, and shed laid out the invitations for her 96th birthday party, but they got washed away. And when the fire brigade came to get her out, they took her out through the conservatory because they didnt want her to see the state of her beloved home. Roads turned into rivers. The coastal town of dawlish ran red. Elsewhere, butlins in minehead was forced to close for four days, and Exeter Airport closed yesterday. This family in swindon woke up to find their garden transformed into a swimming pool. And in kenton, in devon, its feared it could take several days for floodwaters to recede. The storms in the South West Have now passed, but heavy rain and flood warnings are forecast for wales and the north of england over the coming days. Janine jansen, bbc news. For years theyd dreamed of freedom, locked away in the notorious evin prison in iran. Well, now five americans with dual iranian nationality, have been freed. In return, tehran will get access to 6 billion worth of oil revenue as part of what was a complex deal brokered by qatar. Five iranians have also been released from us jails. Lyse doucet has the latest from the qatari capital of doha. The first steps to freedom. Finally, leaving iran. Two hours later, touching down in doha, imagine the emotion inside this plane, and opening the door on a new life, five former prisoners. Relief and joy palpable as they embraced american and qatari officials. The success of months of indirect talks here between arch enemies, iran and america. These are three of the freed prisoners. Two others did not want their identity is revealed. 67 year old, arrested five years ago, in a crackdown on environmental activists. The 58 year old, a businessman arrested in 2020, also on charges of spying. And 51 year old Siamak Namazi, who spent the longest in the notorious evin prison. He issued this statement today. The we spoke to one of his relatives who also spent time in evin prison. It is a joyful day but knowing Siamak Namazi and his strong personality and his values, im sure that he will try to come out of this trauma as soon as possible so he can dedicate his time elsewhere. 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