Susanna Reid spoke out in support of Fiona Bruce over the 'outrageous' pile-on she has faced following claims she had trivialised domestic violence during a discussion about Stanley Johnson on Question Time. The presenter was discussing the fact that the host of the BBC politics show had stepped back as an ambassador of domestic abuse charity Refuge during Tuesday morning's Good Morning Britain (March 14).
Bruce faced a social media backlash for her response afterthe 82-year-old father of former prime minister Boris Johnson was talked about in the show last Thursday night (March 9). In a statement given to the PA news agency on Monday, Bruce said that she was "required to legally contextualise" a response about Mr Johnson and the words are not an expression of her own opinions and she would never minimise domestic abuse.
The 58-year-old former newsreader added: "I know survivors of domestic abuse have been distressed by what I was required to say on-air. For that, I am deeply sorry. I cannot change what I was required to say, but I can apologise for the very real impact that I can see it has had.
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"I have been a passionate advocate and campaigner for all survivors of domestic abuse, and have used my privileged position as a woman in the public eye to bring this issue to the fore, notably in my work for over 25 years with Refuge. But following the events of last week, I have faced a social media storm, much of which mischaracterised what I said and took the form of personal abuse directed at me. The only people that matter in all this are the survivors, they are my priority."
Discussing the outrage on GMB, Susanna compared Bruce's treatment to that of Gary Lineker, who is set to return to his role on the BBC following an impartiality row with the broadcaster. Susanna said: "It looks like full support for Gary Lineker, but friends of Fiona Bruce have said she has been hung out to dry over what was said on Question Time."
Co-host Ed Balls then chimed in as he referenced the observation he has made: "Can I just say Susanna, I’ve actually seen this in the last year, which I’ve never experienced before, when you do that, which is put the other side, which is our responsibility when we’re doing the roles we’re playing, you get these pile-ons on social media where people assume that if we say that, that’s what we believe."
He then added: "That’s what happened to Fiona Bruce. She wasn’t saying that she believed that, she was saying that’s what the other side said." Susanna also continued: "She very clearly says in that clip that she is contextualising it and giving the right of reply. She wasn’t arguing with Yasmin Alibhai-Brown. I think it’s outrageous that she is being held personally accountable."
Last week on Question Time, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown said Mr Johnson’s alleged history of violence was "on record" and he was a "wife beater". Bruce interrupted, telling journalist and panel member Ms Alibhai-Brown and the audience: "I’m not disputing what you’re saying, but just so everyone knows what this is referring to, Stanley Johnson’s wife spoke to a journalist, Tom Bower, and she said that Stanley Johnson had broken her nose and that she’d ended up in hospital as a result.
"Stanley Johnson has not commented publicly on that. Friends of his have said it did happen but it was a one-off." Bruce also said she did not want the issue to create a "distraction" for Refuge and it has been a "hard decision" to pause her work with the charity as she feels "so strongly" about tackling domestic abuse. The Antiques Roadshow presenter added: "I will continue to be an active supporter, albeit from the sidelines for now."
In a statement on Monday, Refuge thanked Bruce for her "considerable contribution" to their work over the years and said the charity had "accepted" her offer to stand down. The charity acknowledged that while the words the BBC presenter had used around claims about Johnson were not her own, this did not reduce their "impact" and had "minimised the seriousness of domestic abuse".
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