British police announced on Monday that they had opened an investigation into allegations of sex crimes against actor Russell Brand, following media reports that four women had accused the comedian of a series of sexual assaults, Reuters reported.

Russell BrandPhoto: Youtube / Planet / Profimedia

Earlier this month, the Sunday Times and Channel 4 TV reported that several women had accused Brand, 48, of sexual offences, including rape, which took place between 2006 and 2013.

Brand denied the “very serious criminal allegations”, saying on his social media that he had never had consensual sex.

“Following an investigation by Channel 4 Dispatches and The Sunday Times, the Metropolitan Police has received a number of allegations of sexual offenses in London,” London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

“We have also received a number of allegations of sexual offenses elsewhere in the country and we will be investigating them.”

Police declined to release details of the dates, number of incidents or details of the crimes under investigation.

However, last week, following media reports, police said they had received a report of a sexual assault that allegedly took place in Soho, central London, in 2003.

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“We continue to encourage anyone who believes they may have been the victim of a sex offence, regardless of how long ago it was, to contact us,” said Detective Constable Andy Furfee, who is leading the investigation.

Since the allegations were first published and aired, British media have detailed other accounts from women who allege that Brand, the ex-husband of American singer Katy Perry and once one of the country’s leading comedians, engaged in inappropriate behavior.

His promoters also announced that the remaining dates of the stand-up tour had been postponed, and last Tuesday YouTube said it had decided to suspend advertising on the Russell Brand-owned channel.

Brand accused “big tech”, the government and the media of trying to silence independent voices.

However, he did not mention the sex crime allegations.