Putney Pusher suspect’s sisters slam Met: ‘Our brother was innocent’
The sisters of the millionaire banker accused of being the ‘Putney pusher’, have insisted upon his innocence while hitting out at the Metropolitan Police’s handling of the investigation.
Nicholas Brandram’s sisters, Alexia Hicks and Sophie Voelcker, accused the Met of being “negligent and reckless” during their investigation.
The former British Army officer took his own life at the age of 44 on Tuesday.
Speaking to the BBC, they argued it was “ridiculous” that Brandram was a suspect as he did not match the profile of the pusher. They say that their brother, who was a director at a private bank, had blue eyes while the victim reported the attacker had brown.
They added that Brandram also had an injured leg from an old army injury and a prominent military tattoo on his forearm, and was willing to provide the Met with a DNA sample to speed up the inquiry.
From CCTV footage, the Met described the man in the incident as in his early to mid-30s, with short brown hair and a stocky build. He was also said to have been wearing dark blue shorts, trainers and a grey T-shirt.
“It’s out there on the internet what the so-called Putney pusher looked like,” the sisters said.
“We provided evidence very quickly to show that this did not look like our brother. Nine and a half years ago when the incident occurred, there’d been absolutely nothing connecting our brother to the attack.
“So this came completely out of the blue, off effectively an allegation which must have been either malicious or mistaken.”
Brandram’s ‘hostile’ arrest and media leaks
In June, Brandram was held on suspicion of grievous bodily harm nine years after a woman was shoved into traffic by a jogger on Putney Bridge. Last week, the Met said he had been released under investigation.
Hicks and Voelcker described the arrest as “hostile” as Brandram woke up to police officers “wearing armed vests” at his front door alongside a media crew. They added that it seemed the Met had an “urgency” to arrest him and tell the press.
They said his mental health had been “deteriorating” following the arrest.
“His name was leaked on social media channels within a couple of days. And that’s when the vitriol started online. Thanks to the leak,” they said.
“He was reading everything that was online. Because he was still guilty online.
“The Met, they were negligent, they were reckless and they have… failed our brother. They failed in their duty of care to our brother, to the wider family and arguably actually society because the Putney pusher is still out there.”
Chief Superintendent Dan Knowles, in charge of policing for south west London, said: “Our thoughts are with Mr Brandram’s family and friends at this deeply distressing time. We recognise the significant impact his death will have on those who knew and loved him. We also understand the strain that being subject to a police investigation can place on individuals and their families.
“The investigation remains ongoing. Following Mr Brandram’s release under investigation, it was made clear that enquiries would continue while officers progressed outstanding lines of enquiry and forensic examinations. This remains the position, and further investigative work is ongoing.
“Investigations of this nature, particularly those involving complex evidential and forensic work, can take a number of months to complete as officers gather and assess all available evidence.
“As is required whenever a person dies following previous contact with police, a mandatory referral was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) on 16 September.”