Putney Pusher suspect's sisters accuse Met of negligence after his death, say DNA test would have cleared him
Unbiased summary
Nicholas Brandram, a 44-year-old former banker and army officer, was arrested in June 2024 on suspicion of assaulting a woman on Putney Bridge in 2017. He was released under investigation but not charged. He was found dead at his home on Tuesday, with his family saying he took his own life. His sisters, Alexia Hicks and Sophie Voelcker, told the BBC that police were 'negligent and reckless,' claiming he offered to pay for a private DNA test but police said results would come in four weeks, which never happened. They also said he did not match the attacker's description and that media leaks worsened his mental state. The Metropolitan Police have not yet commented publicly.
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Coverage by outlet
BBC News
centre-left
Angle
Reporting the sisters' accusations as legitimate grievances, giving them a platform without critical scrutiny.
Bias
The BBC article focuses exclusively on the sisters' claims, omitting any police response or context about the investigation. It emphasizes the lack of urgency and the mental health impact, but does not include specific details like the offer to pay for a private DNA test or the physical description mismatches. This creates a one-sided narrative sympathetic to the family.
The Independent
centre-left
Angle
Framing the case as a systemic failure and the suspect as a victim of police and media misconduct.
Bias
The Independent includes more details such as the private DNA test offer and the alleged leaks, highlighting the sisters' accusations of negligence. It uses emotive language like 'failed' and 'reckless' in the headline and quotes, presenting the family's perspective as fact without balancing from the police. It also omits any potential justifications for the police's actions.
City AM
centre-right
Angle
Emphasizing the suspect's respectable background and his clear physical incompatibility with the attacker's description, thereby questioning the police's competence.
Bias
City AM highlights his status as a millionaire banker and army officer, and details the differences in eye colour, leg injury, and tattoo. They also include the CCTV description of the suspect, but frame it as contradictory. They do not include any police response, and the focus is on the sisters' insistence on innocence, lending weight to their claims by contrasting the descriptions.
Daily Mail
right
Angle
Sensationalizing the family's accusations, portraying the police as incompetent and brutal, with a focus on the tragic outcome.
Bias
The Daily Mail uses dramatic headlines and emotive language ('slam,' 'failed,' 'negligent') and includes extensive quotes from the family. They emphasize the promised DNA results that never came, the mental deterioration, and the suicide. They omit any police perspective or explanation, and the tone is highly critical of the Met, framing them as directly responsible for his death.
GB News
right
Angle
Presenting the family's story as evidence of police failure, with a focus on the rejected offer for a private DNA test and an alibi.
Bias
GB News highlights the offer to pay for a DNA test and the police's assurance that results would arrive in four weeks, which never happened. They also include the family's claim of an email from his office at the time of the incident. No police response is included, and the framing is accusatory, with the family's account presented as unvarnished truth.