Family of ‘Putney pusher’ suspect blame police for banker’s sudden death
The family of a British banker suspected of pushing a woman into the path of a London bus have blamed police for his sudden death.
Nicholas Brandram’s family insist the 44-year-old was not the so-called “Putney pusher”, a mystery jogger who without warning shoved an unsuspecting woman into the path of a bus on Putney Bridge nine years ago.
Nicholas Brandram. Supplied
Brandram had been identified by the Metropolitan Police as having been arrested in June over the Putney Bridge incident from 2017. Despite the shocking dashcam footage of the incident, which the woman survived thanks only to the bus driver’s quick reflexes, the case had stayed unsolved.
Last week, Metropolitan Police confirmed Brandram had been released under investigation, and on Tuesday evening he was found dead in his home.
In a statement on Thursday, Brandram's family said he "took his own life after months of immense pressure caused by a Metropolitan Police investigation".
They said there was "no evidence placing him on Putney Bridge at that time, and no credible evidence that he was the man shown in the footage".
"In fact, the evidence proved the opposite," the family said.
The Metropolitan Police are yet to comment on the family’s statement.
The police force has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
The family detailed the grave impact the investigation had on Brandram, and criticised police for arresting him “rather than invite him to attend for interview”.
"They searched his home, and the Met Police press team then released information which inevitably led to speculation and Nick being identified in subsequent reporting," the family said.
"For Nick, the consequences did not disappear. He was left for months carrying the stigma of an appalling allegation which the police themselves clearly recognised was unsupported by the evidence.
"He lived with the shame, anxiety, humiliation, and extraordinary pressure created by a wholly unnecessary investigation."
It has previously been reported that Brandram has many royal relatives and was a direct descendant of Queen Victoria.
Brandram’s grandmother was Princess Katherine of Greece, and the late Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, was his father’s godfather.
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