Jess Phillips, the Labour MP, said that she found the Channel 4 Dispatches documentary detailing allegations of serious misconduct against Russell Brand “harrowing”.

“Even somebody as hardened as me – I deal with rape cases, abuse cases – I found watching the Dispatches (programme), I found it really harrowing,” she told Channel 4 News.

She hit out at some social media users who were questioning the accounts of the women who had made accusations against Brand.

“Now these women, rather than Russell Brand himself and the production companies where he was working throughout that period, are going to feel like they have questions that they have to answer. They’re going to feel like they have to prove themselves.”

She also said that she was unsurprised by the fact that people turned up to see Mr Brand perform on Saturday night.

“It doesn’t surprise me that men fail up, specifically in that industry. It just makes it look like society accepts that women have to tolerate a certain amount of abuse.”

Brand has denied the allegations.