Labour safeguarding minister quits after role triggered memories of rape and grooming
The Labour MP, who was groomed and raped as a teenager, said she had done the “bravest thing” in telling Andy Burnham she was stepping down.
Ms Fleet has previously spoken about her experience of being groomed at the age of 15 by an older man, who raped her, which resulted in her becoming pregnant.
She was appointed to the Home Office role in May, having won her seat at the last election.
In a statement on X, she said: “Honour of lifetime to be Minister for Safeguarding.
Honour of lifetime to be Minister for Safeguarding.
— Natalie Fleet MP (@NatalieFleetMP) July 22, 2026
Quickly found contents overwhelmingly triggering.
Did bravest thing I’ve ever done & told PMs team I sadly couldn’t stay.
Victims deserve someone at their best.
I wish my successor well & will do all I can to support them. pic.twitter.com/M5sgmAvMTP
“Quickly found contents overwhelmingly triggering.
“Did bravest thing I’ve ever done and told PMs team I sadly couldn’t stay.
“Victims deserve someone at their best.
“I wish my successor well and will do all I can to support them.”
In an interview with GB News soon after being elected, she described feeling “full of shame and guilt and responsibility” at the time of the grooming.
“That was an older man. That was potentially, I mean now we have labels like grooming that we didn’t have then,” she said.
“I didn’t know we were having unprotected sex.
“I was a child and this is statutory rape.
“You know, at the time this isn’t something that we were talking about.
“It’s not how I saw myself.”
When she came to tell her daughter about what happened, Ms Fleet said she had been shocked that she was unable to find any advice for women in her situation.
She said: “There was nothing.
“There’s no acknowledgement that it happens in the UK.
“And the more research I’ve done, I’ve found that there are over 3,000 conceptions every year from rape, but there’s no charity to support these women.”
Technology & Business Editor
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