Russell Brand-supporting councillor hits out at South Wales Police

Emily Price 

A Bridgend councillor who sparked a fierce backlash when he expressed sympathy for convicted rapist Russel Brand, has lashed out at South Wales Police saying the force hasn’t done enough to protect him.

In a social media post published on Monday (November 9), Pyle, Kenfig Hill and Cefn Cribwr councillor Owain Clatworthy initially praised South Wales Police for its “professional and prompt” response to an alleged death threat calling for his assassination.

However, the Restore Britain councillor went on to claim the force had failed to do enough following a separate incident in April, when he alleged he had received “multiple death threats” and been physically assaulted by someone he described as a “left-wing thug”.

In a post to Facebook, Cllr Clatworthy said: “I have received just two phone calls from the police in several months.

“That is simply not good enough.

“Threats of this nature must be treated seriously and followed up properly.

“Anything less is unacceptable.”

A South Wales Police spokesperson said: “South Wales Police is investigating an alleged common assault which happened in May 2026 in the Porthcawl area.

“No arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing.

“We are also aware of a comment on Facebook towards the Councillor over the weekend, this is currently under investigation.”

It comes amid widespread criticism of Cllr Clatworthy after he told Russell Brand to “stay strong” in a social media rant last week, claiming the disgraced comedian was a victim of “two-tier justice”.

Brand was remanded in custody on Thursday (November 5) after a jury at Southwark Crown Court found him guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault against four different women.

In a post to Facebook following the verdict, Cllr Clatworthy said Brand had been the target of “media attacks” and a “full on witch hunt”.

He wrote: “Funny how the real pressure only kicked off once he questioned the elites, rejected the Covid narrative, and publicly found Jesus as his Lord and Savior [sic].

“They dug up old claims from decades ago, when he was living a very different life, and turned it into a show trial to silence a man who got off the establishment script and started speaking truth.

“Two tier justice is real, the powerful get protection, while anyone who challenges the system and turns to God gets targeted.

“This is why so many people have zero trust in these institutions.

“Stay strong Russell.”

Today Brand was sentenced to 10 years and 6 months in prison for his crimes.

Bridgend County Borough Council’s political group leaders issued a joint statement completely rejecting and distancing the local authority from Cllr Clatworthy’s remarks.

Reform’s group in the Senedd also condemned the Restore Britain politician’s comments saying only Reform would protect women and girls.

However, Cllr Clatworthy had previously passed Reform’s vetting process and been selected to stand as a candidate for Nigel Farage’s party at the recent Senedd election.

The evangelical Christian later defected to Restore Britain after becoming embroiled in a row with Reform over being placed last on the party’s list of candidates for the Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg constituency.

Following his comments about Russell Brand, Cllr Clatworthy declared that he “couldn’t give two shits” what people thought of him, insisting he would not “water down” his beliefs or “pretend the truth is optional” to make others “feel safe in their little bubble”.

“If telling the truth makes me ‘divisive’ then so be it. I’m not self censoring for anyone,” he said.

Strong concerns have been raised about Cllr Clatworthy’s behaviour since he entered local politics under Reform UK’s banner at just 20-years-old in May 2025.

He later tried to secretly join the ruling Labour group, insisting he couldn’t stand Nigel Farage.

Following his defection to Restore Britain, Cllr Clatworthy published a series of controversial social media posts, prompting a petition calling for his removal which attracted more than 2,500 signatures.

It followed backlash over a social media post in which the Restore figure was accused of homophobia after attacking a rainbow-coloured table at a shopping centre, claiming it represented a political view that was “impossible to escape”.

In recent weeks, Cllr Clatworthy has spoken out in defence of far-right activist Tommy Robinson.

When Robinson was found guilty of harassing two journalists and causing them to fear violence in October, Cllr Clatworthy claimed “the system” had treated him “unfairly again”.

Bridgend council’s leaders have backed a motion calling on the Welsh Government to introduce a Westminster-style “recall mechanism”.

This would allow voters to remove elected representatives between elections if they are found to have breached public trust.