New Yorkers have reacted furiously to Russell Brand's admission that he is 'open-minded' about whether the United States was behind the 9/11 attacks.

The comedian, 39, said in a BBC Newsnight interview he believes there is an 'interesting' relationship between the families of former US president George Bush and Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and asked: 'Do you trust the American government?'

Brand was pressed by presenter Evan Davis on comments in his new book, Revolution, because in it he describes the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York as 'controlled'.

New Yorker Ryan Nugent, 31, said: 'It's an insensitive thing to say. I had friends who were in the tower, luckily they were OK, but we only recently had our moment of silence.

'It was extremely tough and sad for people in this city. And it still is.

'He needs to talk about something that you can factually prove. There is no evidence to suggest this happened. It's weak from him and he is only trying to create buzz for his book.'

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Flamboyant: Russell Brand, pictured on Newsnight last night, caused controversy after he said he was 'open-minded' about whether the United States was involved in 9/11

Outspoken: Brand accused the presenter Evan Davis of leading him 'down blind alleys about silly administrative quibbles' when taken to task over his new book

Local John Greco said: 'He is just trying to get publicity for his book. I don't really listen to what he has to say.'

Brand's decision to give credence to a 9/11 conspiracy on Thursday night led to immediate outrage both online and from those who knew, or were related to, people killed in the terrorist attack.

The multi-millionaire, who was married to Katy Perry, was branded a 'ranting idiot' who should 'stick to comedy'.

New Yorker Kathryn Kolocuh, 22, said she 'felt sorry' for him and believed he was being paranoid.

Another said: 'It's a silly, ridiculous thing to say. Just sounds like he is being incendiary to promote his book.'

Responding to criticism that Brand was on Newsnight again, the BBC, who had nine complaints, said: 'Love him or loathe him Russell Brand has been one of the most eloquent voices articulating the anti-politics mood that all British politicians are currently struggling to engage with'.

Rant: Brand also accused the BBC of pursuing subtly building 'an anti-Islamic narrative' while reporting the Ottawa terror attack this week

Conspiracy theorists have said that rather than being brought down by terrorists, the United States plotted to demolish them with explosives to help spark a war in Iraq.

JOIN THE CLUB:OTHERS WHO ESPOUSE A 9/11 CONSPIRACY Charlie Sheen Fellow hellraiser Charlie Sheen argues that hijackers could never have carried out the 9/11 attacks. He said: 'It seems to me like 19 amateurs with box cutters taking over four commercial airliners and hitting 75 per cent of their targets, that feels like a conspiracy theory. It raises a lot of questions.' David Icke Icke believes that the world is being run by a race of child-sacrificing, shape-shifting, reptilian aliens — and thousands of people seem to believe him. He was forced to flee the spotlight 20 years ago — after he declared on a BBC chat show that he was the son of God. The TV star from the 1980s, and his followers that the Babylonian Brotherhood runs the world and the Queen and George W Bush are among the race of reptiles and this elite group organised terror attacks like 9/11 and the Oklahoma bombing. Advertisement

When asked about a 9/11 conspiracy Brand said: 'We have to remain open-minded to any kind of possibility.

'Do you trust the American government? Do you trust the British government? What I do think is very interesting is the relationship that the Bush family have had for a long time with the bin Laden family.

'What I do think is very interesting is the way that even the BBC report the events in Ottawa to subtly build an anti-Islamic narrative. I think that's very interesting.'

He then appeared abruptly to change tack, saying that he did not want to discuss 'daft' conspiracy theories.

Brand has courted controversy over 9/11 in the past and was sacked by MTV after turning up for work dressed as Osama bin Laden on the day after the attack that killed 3,000 people.

In his autobiography he described being around colleagues on September 12 as: 'And there's me standing beside them, still dressed as Osama bin Laden. I thought: "It don't get any better than this."

Twitter users were left furious by his Newsnight performance, many considering it insulting to the nearly 3,000 dead, which included 67 Britons.

The devastating attacks on the Twin Towers 13 years ago changed the world.

Questioning: The comedian was asked about 9/11 because his book refers to the terror attack being 'controlled'

FURY AS BBC LETS BRAND SUGGEST 9/11 WAS US PLOT The BBC came under fire last night for giving Russell Brand a platform on Newsnight to say the US government may have been behind the 9/11 terror attacks. Bosses on the show devoted seven more minutes to Brand’s bizarre musings than to the coverage of the deadly spread of Ebola across Western Africa. The interview – which took up more than a third of the entire programme – lasted as long as a piece on a key report into the state of the NHS in England. Last night Tory MP Philip Davies condemned the BBC for giving Brand a platform. He said: ‘I’ve no idea what the BBC are up to. If they think that the general public want to see this kind of nonsense on a serious political news programme they need to get out more. ‘It is bewildering why they have given Russell Brand a platform to display such ignorant views. One might wonder what expertise he brings to this subject. The answer is none. The BBC have taken leave of their senses.’ A BBC spokesman said: ‘Love him or loathe him, Russell Brand has been one of the most eloquent voices articulating the anti-politics mood politicians are struggling to engage with.’ Brand will appear on the Jonathan Ross Show tonight to promote his book – six years after the pair faced a storm of criticism for calling actor Andrew Sachs so Brand could boast of having had sex with his granddaughter. Advertisement

More than 1,100 people have never been identified, and their remains have been placed in a tomb under New York's Memorial Museum.

The al Qaeda plot also included the crashing of two more aircraft, one into the Pentagon, in Washington DC, and the other a field in Pennsylvania.

In the tense interview Brand said the BBC 'shamefully sabotaged' the Scottish Referendum for the No campaign and Mr Davis he was 'mates with like CEOs and big businesses' and spent time 'cosying up' to London mayor Boris Johnson.

When Mr Davis pressed him about his views he shouted over the presenter: 'Mate, I don't want to follow you down blind alleys about silly administrative quibbles.'

At one point Mr Davis pleaded: 'I'm trying to take you seriously.'

Davis then tried to show the actor a graph showing wage levels in Britain, but he responded: 'I don't want to look at a graph mate, I haven't got time to look at a bloody graph.

'It's a lovely graph mate, well done. This is the kind of thing that people like you use to confuse people like us.'

After the show Twitter users started sending graphs to Brand to lampoon him over the outburst.

He replied: 'Cheers for the graphs.The 5 richest families in UK have as much money as the poorest 12 million people. Do us one for that'.

Track record: Russell Brand was on Newsnight in 2013 where urged people not to vote because it 'changes nothing'

Tragedy: Almost 3,000 people were killed when terrorists crashed two hijacked planes into the Twin Towers 13 years ago

It was Brand's second appearance on Newsnight after a now notorious interview with Jeremy Paxman, where the comedian said he had never voted because he regarded politicians as untrustworthy and irrelevant.

The multi-millionaire also said that 'profit is a dirty word', in response the the Prime Minister who said it wasn't.

He has been a regular on the BBC despite his acrimonious departure in 2008.

Brand and presenter Jonathan Ross left a series of obscene messages on Mr Sachs’s answerphone during Brand’s Radio 2 programme.

The incident provoked 42,000 complaints after Brand boasted of sleeping with Mr Sachs’s granddaughter and joked that the 83-year-old former Fawlty Towers star might hang himself as a result of the phone calls. Brand later resigned while Ross was suspended.

Brand later claimed many of the 42,000 people who complained to the BBC either had no real idea of what they were complaining about or were motivated by an anti-BBC agenda.

He has starred in several high profile Hollywood movies, most notably Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek, and commands a high acting fee.

He is also famous in the UK for his work on television, radio and as a stand up comedian.

His net worth is believed to be more than £15million, with rumours this doubled following his divorce from singer Katy Perry.