Met was negligent and reckless, sisters of 'Putney pusher' suspect tell BBC

The sisters of the man suspected of being the so-called "Putney pusher" have told the BBC the Metropolitan Police was "negligent" and "reckless" in its handling of the case.

Nicholas Brandram was under suspicion of being the jogger who pushed a woman into the path of a bus during a run on Putney Bridge, west London, in May 2017.

His family said he was innocent and "took his own life after months of immense pressure" caused by the investigation.

His sisters Alexia Hicks and Sophie Volker told BBC Radio 4's Today programme his mental health was deteriorating and that "every day was becoming difficult" for him in recent months.

"He was reading everything that was online. Because he was still guilty online," they said.

"And I think that the police's urgency to get him arrested and the urgency to get it in the press, I think he couldn't understand why there wasn't an urgency to help clear his name."

The Met said it recognised the "strain that being subject to a police investigation" could cause, and that a mandatory referral had been made to the police watchdog.

The force said the investigation into the 2017 incident remained ongoing.

It added that it had no further comment to make in relation to the sisters' comments.

Brandram, who was 44, was arrested in June this year on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm. Last week, the Met confirmed he had been released under investigation.

The banker was found dead in his home on Tuesday evening. The force said his death was being treated as "unexpected, but is not believed to be suspicious".

His sisters said: "You know, the Met, they were negligent, they were reckless and they have, you know, 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."

The sisters told Today presenter Justin Webb it was "ridiculous" that Brandram was ever under formal suspicion, as he did not match the profile of the pusher.

"We provided evidence very quickly to show that this did not look like our brother.

"He had a withered leg from an injury sustained back from when he'd been in the army.

"The victim had apparently reported that the attacker had had brown eyes. Our brother had very clear blue eyes.

"He had a prominent military tattoo on his forearm, which understandably would have been visible because the runner was wearing a T-shirt."

They also said their brother lived in Notting Hill, had no connection with Putney and they had evidence to suggest he was in his Bond Street office at the time of the attack.

"So this came completely out of the blue, off effectively an allegation which must have been either malicious or mistaken."

Paying tribute to their brother, they said he was warm, enthusiastic and charming.

"He was our very, very, very loved brother and uncle, father, son. He was a real family man and we've always been a very close family and didn't deserve any of this happening to him."

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