Family of Putney pusher suspect blame Met police pressure for his death
Nicholas Brandram, 44, was found dead at his west London home. His family say the Metropolitan Police investigation into the 2017 Putney Bridge incident caused months of immense pressure and deny he was involved.
The family of Nicholas Brandram, the 44-year-old former banker who was arrested in connection with the 2017 «Putney pusher» incident, have said he took his own life after months of immense pressure caused by a Metropolitan Police investigation. Brandram was found unresponsive inside a property in Chiswick, west London, believed to be his home, on Tuesday evening.
In a statement released after his death, his relatives denied that he was the so-called «Putney pusher» and said he had lived with «shame, anxiety, humiliation, and extraordinary pressure created by a wholly unnecessary investigation». They said the police inquiry had continued despite what they described as no credible evidence linking him to the incident.
The case dates back to May 2017, when a woman was pushed into the path of an oncoming bus on Putney Bridge. The incident was captured on CCTV and the footage was widely shared, prompting a public appeal to identify the man seen running away from the scene. Brandram was arrested in connection with the incident but was never charged. His family say the investigation and the public attention that followed placed him under sustained strain.
According to his family, Brandram had been living with the consequences of the police probe for months before his death. They said the Metropolitan Police had been aware of his innocence and yet the investigation continued, leaving him to face what they called the shame and anxiety of being publicly linked to a crime he did not commit. The family's statement places responsibility for his death on the pressure generated by the inquiry.
The Metropolitan Police have not commented publicly on the family's claims. The force has previously confirmed that a man was arrested in connection with the Putney Bridge incident but was released without charge. No further action was taken against him at the time.
Brandram was a former banker who lived in west London. His death was confirmed after emergency services were called to the property in Chiswick on Tuesday evening. A post-mortem examination and an inquest are expected to follow in due course, though no details have been released.
The case had attracted significant public interest because of the dramatic nature of the original incident and the widespread circulation of the CCTV image. The «Putney pusher» label became a fixture in national coverage, and the search for the person responsible generated extensive media attention. For Brandram's family, that attention formed part of the pressure they say he endured.
Their statement raises questions about the handling of high-profile investigations and the impact on individuals who are arrested but never charged. It also highlights the long shadow that such inquiries can cast over the lives of those involved, even when no criminal case follows.
The family's account has been reported by several national outlets, all of which carried the same central claim: that Brandram was innocent and that the Metropolitan Police investigation was to blame for his death. The force has not yet responded to those allegations.
Brandram's death has prompted renewed scrutiny of the way police conduct investigations that attract intense public and media interest. His family say they want the circumstances surrounding the inquiry to be examined, and they have rejected any suggestion that he was responsible for the 2017 incident.
An inquest into his death is expected to open in due course. The Metropolitan Police have been contacted for comment.
