Simon Brokin on the consequences of his pranks

The comic has pranked Donald Trump and shady characters such as Sepp Blatter – but it was his stunt at the Geneva Motor Show last year that landed him in most trouble.

In a stunt highlighting the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal, he stormed the stage as chief executive Matthias Müller was unveiling a new model. Dressed as mechanic, Brodkin put a 'cheat box' beneath the model being unveiled, but was bundled away by security.

Speaking to Metro today, he said that afterwards he was 'beaten in a police cell'.

'I'm being a bit dramatic,' he said. 'But it was the Volkswagen show in Switzerland.… It was just after the emissions scandal where they fitted a device to the exhaust so the emissions would read lower than they were.

'I went on stage and said, "Here's the new cheat box you ordered," and went under the car to fit it.

'As far as the police were concerned, someone got on stage trying to fix a black box under the car and I had a microphone on me, which is essentially a battery pack with wire coming out of it, so they got the wrong idea. They got pretty rough.'

The comic, best known for his Lee Nelson alter-ego, was speaking to promote his Serious Joker tour.

Published: 11 Jul 2017