Nicholas Brandram, the 44-year-old private banker arrested over the alleged “Putney Pusher” attack, has been found dead at his home in Chiswick, west London.
Police and ambulance crews were called to the property in Hounslow at 7.15pm on Tuesday, September 15, after a man was found unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Metropolitan Police said his death was being treated as unexpected but was not believed to be suspicious. A file will be prepared for the coroner, and his next of kin have been informed.
Brandram was detained in June on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm in connection with an incident on Putney Bridge in May 2017. A jogger was captured on CCTV appearing to push a woman into the path of a double-decker bus.
The woman survived after the driver swerved at the last moment. No one was charged over the incident before the investigation was closed in 2018, although it was later reopened after new information emerged.
Putney Bridge investigation
The attack happened during the morning rush hour, at about 7.40am, as the woman walked south across Putney Bridge. The jogger approached from the opposite direction and appeared to force her off the pavement and into the road.
The 430 bus was travelling at about 12mph. Its driver, Oliver Salbris, reacted quickly and avoided hitting the woman’s head by inches.
The jogger continued across the bridge without stopping. He was seen returning around 15 minutes later, passing the woman again as she was being helped, but ignored her calls to stop.
Detectives had previously interviewed 50 men and arrested three suspects. One, an American investment banker, was able to prove he was in the United States when the incident occurred.
Brandram was arrested on June 15 and his £1.4 million home was searched. He was arrested again the following day on suspicion of possessing Class A and Class B drugs, believed to be cocaine and cannabis.
He was later released under investigation while police completed outstanding inquiries. The Metropolitan Police had said the arrest related to the 2017 incident in which a woman was pushed into the path of a bus on Putney Bridge.
Brandram’s name was not released when he was arrested for legal reasons. His identity became the subject of intense online speculation, but he could be named following his death.
Career in banking and military service
Brandram was a director at HSBC’s private bank before being suspended after his arrest. He had also worked for stockbroker Killik & Co and Israeli lender Bank Leumi, managing the assets of wealthy clients.
He was a decorated former British Army captain who served with the Scots Guards in Iraq, Bosnia and Afghanistan. In 2012, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of his military service.
Brandram had been married twice and had a three-year-old child. He was also nominated for Private Banker of the Year for 2026.
His family had links to European royalty. His father, City executive Paul Brandram, was the only child of Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark and Major Richard Campbell Andrew Brandram, who served in the British Army during the Second World War.
Princess Katherine was Queen Victoria’s great-granddaughter, a first cousin of Prince Philip and the daughter of King Constantine I of Greece. Queen Sofia of Spain, Paul Brandram’s cousin, expressed “great sadness” after his death in 2020.
Earlier road offence
Brandram had appeared before City of London Magistrates’ Court in 2013 after colliding with a female cyclist at Hyde Park Corner.
The court heard that he had struck the woman with his 1948 Harley-Davidson before driving away without leaving his details or checking whether she was injured.
Representing himself, he told magistrates: “I ride a bicycle myself and realise the risks.”
He added: “I’m an upstanding member of society and have recently resigned as a member of the British Army and have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Brandram pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention and failing to stop after a road accident. He was given five penalty points, fined £200 and ordered to pay £105 in compensation.
Mr Salbris later said he still thought about the Putney Bridge incident and remained especially careful when driving across the bridge.
“I’m glad my reactions were quick on that day, or it would have ended very differently, both for me and the woman who was pushed,” he said. “Her head was only a few centimetres from the bus and the wheel, even after I swerved to avoid her.”
