Natalie Fleet steps back from safeguarding minister role citing trauma
Natalie Fleet, the Labour MP for Bolsover, has stepped down from her role as a safeguarding minister, saying the position proved too personally painful to continue in. The decision comes after Fleet publicly disclosed that she was groomed and raped as a teenager — experiences she says made the day-to-day demands of the brief emotionally unsustainable.
Why Fleet left the role
Fleet described the ministerial position as “triggering,” a word that carries particular weight given her own history as a survivor of child sexual abuse. Working across policy areas that directly intersect with cases of grooming, exploitation and child safeguarding meant she was regularly confronted with material that cut close to her own trauma. It’s a pressure that, she said, she ultimately couldn’t manage alongside her parliamentary duties.
She had held the role for less than a year.
Fleet’s history as a survivor
The MP, who was elected in July 2024 representing the Bolsover constituency in Derbyshire, became one of the most prominent politicians in Westminster to speak openly about surviving childhood sexual abuse. Fleet was groomed and raped as a teenager, and she has spoken about those experiences in parliament as well as in media interviews, framing her disclosure as an act of advocacy rather than simply personal testimony.
Her willingness to go public was widely praised by survivor support organisations. But it also placed her in an unusual position — a government minister whose own lived experience sat at the heart of the policy area she was tasked with overseeing. For some, that seemed like exactly the right fit. For Fleet herself, it turned out to be the opposite.
Government response
A government spokesperson said ministers respect Fleet’s decision and acknowledged the courage it takes to speak publicly about experiences of abuse. “We remain absolutely committed to strengthening safeguarding protections for children and young people across the country,” the spokesperson said, adding that the government’s programme of work in this area would continue without interruption.
Fleet is expected to remain in parliament and continue advocating on issues related to child protection, just no longer from within the ministerial structure that placed her so close to the details of live cases and policy.
What happens next
The Bolsover seat, which Fleet won with a majority of just over 4,700 votes, had previously been held by the Conservatives for decades before that and was famously associated with former Labour firebrand Dennis Skinner. Fleet’s profile has grown considerably since her election, largely due to her bravery in sharing her personal story.
It’s unclear who will take on the safeguarding brief. The government hasn’t announced a replacement yet, and campaigners are already calling for whoever fills the position to prioritise ongoing reviews into historical child sexual exploitation cases. Fleet’s departure leaves a gap that won’t be easy to fill — not least because her personal credibility on the issue was, for many survivors, the most compelling thing about having her there at all.
