Labour MP Sir Chris Bryant has revealed he was sexually abused as a teenager by Michael Croft, the former head of the National Youth Theatre. The Rhondda MP said the abuse occurred during the summer of 1978 when he was just 16 years old.
Sir Chris said Croft, who was 40 years his senior and died in 1986, had invited him to dinner every evening while he was attending the company in London. The MP described how one evening, after returning to Croft's house, he came back from the toilet to find his host naked except for a silk robe.
Croft's sexual advance
The MP said Croft then asked him for sex, which he felt he had no option but to go through with, leaving him feeling like he was "a 16-year-old whore". In an interview with The Sunday Times ahead of the release of his book A Life And A Half: The Unexpected Making Of A Politician, Sir Chris said he rarely tells this story.
"It was always the same Italian in King's Cross. He would eat and drink, I would eat, then he would theoretically give me a lift home, except I always ended up at his house," Sir Chris said. Despite the abuse, the pair remained friends and Sir Chris, an ordained minister, even conducted Croft's funeral.
Targeting vulnerable young people
"He behaved absolutely appallingly, it's despicable," Sir Chris added. "Michael, in my case, managed to spot somebody who was gay at a time when nearly all homosexuality was illegal - certainly very frowned on - so presumed that people would keep a secret."
The 63-year-old MP said at least one friend during his National Youth Theatre days was also abused by Croft. Sir Chris also revealed he has been sexually assaulted by five male MPs during his time in Westminster, although he has not named or reported them.
No reporting system available
"There was no system for doing so and I was frightened it would make me look bad," he said, adding he felt homophobia in Parliament has declined during his 24 years as an MP. The National Youth Theatre issued a statement acknowledging the historical abuse and expressing gratitude to Sir Chris for speaking out.
The organisation said it stands in solidarity with all victims of abuse and encourages anyone who has experienced abuse to speak to someone and access support. The theatre company emphasised it now has thorough safeguarding practices and policies in place, describing itself as very different from the organisation Sir Chris encountered in the 1970s.
The National Youth Theatre said all reports made to them will be dealt with in accordance with their robust safeguarding policy, with trained professionals providing care and respect to anyone who comes forward. The organisation acknowledged that being subjected to an abuse of power can have lasting consequences for many people in different ways.
(PA/London) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
