A banker arrested in June over the infamous 2017 “Putney pusher” attack has been found dead at his west London home, as his family accused the Metropolitan Police of driving him to suicide and the force referred itself to the police watchdog.
Nicholas Brandram, 44, a director at HSBC’s private bank, was found unresponsive at his home in Chiswick on Tuesday evening. The London Ambulance Service was called at 7.55pm on 15 September and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Scotland Yard said his death was being treated as “unexpected” but was not believed to be suspicious, and that evidence was being prepared for the coroner.
Arrested in June
Mr Brandram was taken into police custody on 15 June on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm in connection with the incident on Putney Bridge in which a jogger shoved a woman into the path of an oncoming bus on 5 May 2017. He was released on bail shortly after the arrest and then released under investigation earlier this month while the Metropolitan Police continued its inquiries. Police said he had also been arrested on suspicion of possession of class A and class B drugs.
The arrest came nine years after CCTV footage of the bridge attack circulated widely online. Detectives had identified more than 50 people of interest before closing the original investigation in 2018, saying all lines of inquiry had been exhausted.
Family’s statement
On Thursday, his family released a statement insisting he was innocent and blaming the pressure of the investigation for his death.
“Nick took his own life after months of immense pressure caused by a Metropolitan Police investigation into whether he was the so-called ‘Putney Pusher’. He was not,” the statement said.
“There was no forensic evidence linking Nick to it, 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 police had chosen to arrest him rather than invite him to attend for interview, searched his home, and that the Met’s press team had released information which “inevitably led to speculation and Nick being identified in subsequent reporting”.
They said he had been “left for months carrying the stigma of an appalling allegation which the police themselves clearly recognised was unsupported by the evidence”, adding that he “lived with the shame, anxiety, humiliation, and extraordinary pressure created by a wholly unnecessary investigation”.
The family said officers were repeatedly asked to end the investigation and warned about the impact it was having on his mental health: “Even then, the investigation was not brought to an end. As a result, Nick is dead.”
Met response and watchdog referral
The Met said a mandatory referral was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) on 16 September, as is required whenever a person dies following previous contact with police.
An IOPC spokesperson said: “We have received a mandatory referral from the Met Police relating to prior contact officers had with Nicholas Brandram, who was sadly found unresponsive and declared deceased on 15 September. We are currently assessing the referral before deciding whether further action is required from us.”
Chief Superintendent Dan Knowles, who leads policing for south west London, said: “Our thoughts are with Mr Brandram’s family and friends at this deeply distressing time. We recognise the significant impact his death will have on those who knew and loved him. We also understand the strain that being subject to a police investigation can place on individuals and their families.”
He added: “Following Mr Brandram’s release under investigation, it was made clear that inquiries would continue while officers progressed outstanding lines of inquiry and forensic examinations. Investigations of this nature, particularly those involving complex evidential and forensic work, can take a number of months to complete as officers gather and assess all available evidence.”
The force said the investigation into the alleged incident remains ongoing.
The 2017 attack
The original incident took place in May 2017, when CCTV footage captured a jogger pushing a 33-year-old woman into the road as a double-decker bus approached on Putney Bridge. The footage showed the jogger returning across the bridge about 15 minutes later and ignoring the victim when she tried to speak to him.
The bus driver, Oliver Salbris, later said that had he not swerved he would have “smashed her head”. No one has ever been charged in connection with the attack.
Who was Nicholas Brandram
Mr Brandram was a former British Army officer who trained at Sandhurst and served in Afghanistan before moving into private banking. He held roles at Killik & Co and Bank Leumi before joining HSBC’s private bank, where he advised ultra high net worth clients. He was suspended as a director following his arrest; HSBC declined to comment.
He was a distant relative of the royal family — a grandson of Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark, who was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and a first cousin of the late Prince Philip.
An inquest is expected to be opened in due course. The Met’s investigation into the 2017 incident continues.
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