Natalie Fleet has stepped down as safeguarding minister after finding the role "overwhelmingly triggering", telling the BBC it was making her ill. The Labour MP, who was groomed and raped as a teenager, said she told the team of new Prime Minister Andy Burnham that she "sadly couldn't stay" in the job. Describing it as the "bravest thing I've ever done", Fleet offered her support to her successor.
Fleet was appointed on 12 May this year, following the resignation of Jess Phillips, who said opportunities for progress had been "stalled and delayed" under Sir Keir Starmer. Announcing her departure on X, Fleet wrote: "Honour of lifetime to be minister for safeguarding. Quickly found contents overwhelmingly triggering." She added: "Victims deserve someone at their best."
“Natalie Fleet resigns as safeguarding minister, citing the role's triggering nature due to her own past trauma.”
Speaking to BBC News, Fleet explained the nature of the role means "you hear the worst of humanity". "I understand what it is like not to be seen and not to be heard," she said. "I know how important this job is and I know how much it needs a good and competent minister. It quickly became apparent how ill it was making me."
She received support from the Home Office while in post, she said. "But even with that, the nature of the job means that you hear the worst of humanity. Anybody would struggle hearing that but not everyone would react in the same way as someone who has gone through what I have." Fleet called it "one of the most important jobs in government" and "the honour of my life".
Fleet was elected MP for Bolsover in July 2024, succeeding Conservative Mark Fletcher. She has spoken openly about her experiences: aged 15, she became pregnant after being groomed and raped by an older man. "I didn't know we were having unprotected sex," she told GB News in 2024. "I was a child and (it) is statutory rape." She gave birth to her daughter, "the absolute love of my life". In her maiden speech last October, Fleet said it was her "duty" to speak up for women whose stories are not being told.
Andy Burnham is yet to announce all ministerial appointments. Asked if she would like a different role, Fleet did not say. Her resignation underscores the emotional toll that safeguarding work can exact on those who have lived through similar trauma.