Labour MP who was groomed asks colleagues to back judge-only trials

Exclusive: Natalie Fleet says power balance is with criminals not victims as delays make ‘hell of being raped’ worse

A Labour MP who became pregnant after being groomed and raped as a teenager has called on colleagues to back plans for judge-only trials or “allow the power balance to remain in favour of criminals as opposed to the victims”.

Natalie Fleet, the MP for Bolsover, said she would not encourage survivors to seek justice through the courts because “the hell of being raped is made worse by the hell of going through delays in the system”.