UK police say investigating sex assault claims following Russell Brand reports

Brand has rejected the allegations, saying on his social media channels that he had never had non-consensual sex. "Following an investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches and The Sunday Times, the Met has received a number of allegations of sexual offences in London," London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

British police said they had launched an investigation into a number of allegations of non-recent sexual offences following media reports that four women had accused actor and comedian Russell Brand of a string of sexual assaults.

Earlier this month, the Sunday Times newspaper and Channel 4 TV's documentary show "Dispatches" reported that the women had accused Brand, 48, of sex offences, including a rape, between 2006 and 2013. Brand has rejected the allegations, saying on his social media channels that he had never had non-consensual sex.

"Following an investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches and The Sunday Times, the Met has received a number of allegations of sexual offences in London," London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement. "We have also received a number of allegations of sexual offences committed elsewhere in the country and will investigate these."