Met chief Sir Mark Rowley refuses to apologise for pressure on Putney Pusher suspect who took his own life

From the Newshound archive · first published 9 October 2026.

Sir Mark Rowley has defended the Metropolitan Police investigation into Nicholas Brandram, 44, a former Army officer and banker found dead at his Chiswick home last month after being named as a suspect in the 2017 Putney Bridge shoving incident. Brandram's family said he took his own life after months of immense pressure caused by the Met's inquiry into whether he was the man who shoved a woman into the path of a bus.

Rowley told LBC the Met received new information that led them to treat Brandram as a suspect, adding: 'I'm not going to apologise for that.'

The Met referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which ruled the force should investigate itself over the arrest's necessity, proportionality and media handling.

Brandram had been arrested in June and released under investigation — nine years after the original Putney Bridge incident was caught on CCTV.