UK police say comedian Russell Brand charged with two more offences

British police has said on Tuesday that comedian and actor Russell Brand had been charged with two new counts of serious sexual assault.

The new charges, authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service, are related to two women and followed five similar charges made in April involving four other women going back more than two decades.

Brand, 50, will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on January 20 in relation to the new charges. A trial on the earlier charges is scheduled to begin at Southwark Crown Court on June 16.

Reuters has attempted to reach Brand for comment.

Brand pleaded not guilty in May to the five original charges. Once a well-known broadcaster in Britain and a former husband of US pop singer Katy Perry, he has denied the allegations. 

The original investigation began in September 2023 after allegations were reported by Channel 4 TV's Dispatches show and The Sunday Times newspaper.