Russell Brand stays decent at G20 protest

The last time Russell Brand was seen at an anti-capitalist march, in 2001, he was covering the event for MTV and ended up getting arrested for indecent exposure, so police spotters would have had their eyes on the controversial comedian when he popped up among protestors in the Square Mile yesterday.

But the comic kept his clothes on as he mingled with crowds, having assured his fans via Twitter: "You have my word as a gentleman, my days of protesting against capitalism by taking my trousers down are at an end."

Wearing a beanie hat and sporting his traditional stubble, Brand was shadowed by a film crew but told reporters that his attendance was not a publicity stunt. "I hope today will send a message that things need to change," he said. "I'm here to observe and participate peacefully in the protest.

"I always come to these kind of things, I'm very interested. There's a great sense of community. I am interested in learning and interested in why these people have come to this... I think it's also very beautiful."

Writing on his blog later he revealed that he left earlier than he planned because of the attention he was receiving from protestors and even police officers who recognised him. “I left and felt a pang for the anonymous loony I was, the sweet and tender hooligan and inveterate show-off who saw these days as a valve for all the maladies accrued up till then," he wrote.

He also gave an insight into his Essex upbringing and the background of some of the protestors when he wrote of the police: "I observed that the accents formed behind the plastic shields and helmets were far more familiar to me than the ones muffled by bandanas." ·