Chris Bryant: I was sexually abused by National Youth Theatre founder

Telegraph

2 days ago

Sir Chris Bryant, the Labour minister, has claimed he was sexually abused as a teenager by the founder of the National Youth Theatre.
The MP said Michael Croft had invited him to dinner every evening while he was attending the prestigious drama group in London during the summer of 1978.
Sir Chris, who was 16 at the time, claimed that one night at Mr Croft's house he came back from the lavatory to find his host naked except for a silk robe.
He claimed Mr Croft, who died in 1986, then asked him for sex which he felt he had no option but to go through with.
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, 63, said he was left to feel like a '16-year-old whore'.
'I don't like telling this very much because I've not told it very often,' he said.
'I always ended up at his house'
'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 says Mr Croft never made an advance towards him again, with the pair remaining friends. As an ordained minister, Sir Chris conducted Mr Croft's funeral.
'He behaved absolutely appallingly, it's despicable,' the Labour culture minister 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.'
He claimed that at least one friend during his National Youth Theatre days was also abused by Mr Croft.
Sexually assaulted by five male MPs
Sir Chris also said he has been sexually assaulted by five male MPs during his time in Westminster, although he has not named or reported them.
'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.
A statement on the National Youth Theatre website said: 'We are grateful to Chris Bryant for disclosing to our team the historical abuse he suffered in the company in the 1970s.
'We are very sorry that this happened to him and to others who have previously shared with us their accounts of historic abuse by the same perpetrator.