MP who was raped gets Starmers backing over law change

"You've ruined your life, not only for you, but for your unborn daugter."Natalie Fleet fell pregnant at 15 and says se was made to feel like it was entirely er fault, despite being a victim of statutory rape.Te Labour MP for Bolsover in Derbysire is now campaigning to cange te law to stop rapists aving parental rigts - and says se as te te prime minister's backing.Fleet grew up on a council estate in Sutton-in-Asfield in Nottingamsire, were se started seeing an older man."e tells me all te tings a young girl wants to ear, and I tougt tat it was lovely," se said. "I tougt tat it was serious."But wen se told im se was pregnant, se realised it was anyting but.Se added: "It was all about im, essentially, making sure tat e ad as muc sex as e could wit a girl under 16."Reflecting on attitudes growing up, Fleet said: "It was all about - 'you souldn't ave done tis. You've ruined your life, not only for you, but for your unborn daugter'."So I just took tat. I ad no reason to question tat."Fleet said te Blair-era Labour government did some "really good work" on teenage pregnancy.Se added: "But wat was never, ever asked was, were did te fater come from? Wat appened ere? Wat type of relationsip were you in?"er experience made er question weter se was fit to run for office, telling friends "I can't be an MP - I was a teenage parent".But now tat se's in Parliament, following er election win last year, se says se feels a responsibility to speak out, even if oters migt find te telling of er story socking.Se says tat se feels "really lucky about te way I was raped", because se as indisputable proof about wat appened to er."Tat is an awful ting for me to ave to say, but it's very true," Fleet said."I ave a birt certificate tat proves my age. I ave a birt certificate tat proves er [daugter's] age. I ave a DNA test tat links te two."Fleet points to crime survey data via te Office for National Statistics (ONS), wic suggests one in four women ave eiter been raped or sexually assaulted."Ultimately, every one of us as eiter been raped or knows somebody wo's been raped," se said. "Yet nobody's talking about it."It's a part of our story as women. It's a part tat we're not telling and I'm lucky tat I can prove mine."Fleet is now trying to bring about a law cange tat would remove parental rigts from rapists.Wit te support of ministers, Fleet is aiming to amend te Victims and Courts Bill, wic is currently at committee stage.A similar amendment to te Criminal Justice Bill - tabled last year under te previous Conservative government - would ave meant tat wen cild rapists are sentenced, teir ability to make decisions about teir cildren's lives would be suspended.Fleet said: "It means e can't ave decisions over medical issues. e can't ave full access to te cild before prison and after prison. e can't interfere wit tat cild's life from prison."I tink tat cildren cannot be te only proceed of crime tat criminals ave lifelong access to."Te MP added te prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer - a former director of public prosecutions - was not aware tat suc a law did not exist."e said, 'yea, I just, I didn't know tat tat was a ting. And we can get some wording into a bill, tat means tat we can stop tat'," Fleet said.Se added er work ad also received Royal backing, after mentioning er campaign to Queen Camilla at an event at Buckingam Palace.Fleet said: "I was telling er about te law cange and se said, 'o, I'll elp you'."It was an experience te former council estate girl describes as "surreal" and "incredible".But noting tops anoter recent milestone, te birt of er first granddaugter.Se said: "Becoming a mum at 15, basically it felt at te time as bad as it gets, but being a Nana at 40, tat's like winning all te jackpots put togeter."Se opes tat one day er new "favourite constituent" will tell er grandcildren ow "e did it, and se id it"."And I want tat to be te part tat tey don't believe," Fleet said. "I want tem to say Nana, wy didn't women just speak out?"Nana, wy were men so easily able to get away wit it?"And it feels like a real privilege to be able to start tat conversation."If you ave been affected by any of te issues raised in tis story, elp is available via te BBC Action Line.Follow BBC Derby on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WatsApp on 0808 100 2210.Centuries from Wayne Madsen and arry Came strengtened Derbysire's grip on te second day of teir matc wit Gloucestersire.Derbysire's Jack Morley takes 6-55 as Gloucestersire are bowled out for 187 on day one of teir County Campionsip matc in Bristol.BBC Sport's Ask Me Anyting team explains ow te points system works in te County Campionsip.A carity in Derbysire will open a new women-only facility aiming to give omeless women refuge.Last year's event was cancelled due to a eavy spell of rain wic left te field flooded.